Ninjas of Love
by AyanaRin
Summary: Blake, a young mercenary finds herself working alongside a Faunus-only organization known as the WhiteFang, lead by Adam Taurus, a man with many secrets. In order to hopefully gain a meeting with Adam, she excepts the Mountain Glenn mission. STORY RE-WRITTEN AND UPDATED: 2-15-18
1. Chapter 1: WithinShadows

_**Chapter One: Within Shadows**_

" _There is no force equal to a woman determined to rise."  
-W.E.B. Dubois _

_**A**_ dam Taurus.

This man was the reason I had recently been throwing myself into dangerous missions, one after the other. The desire of seeing him again drove me to perform above even his top men. What other way would I get his attention other than accomplishing things the other mercenaries thought impossible. Surely this would earn me at least a second glance, and from there I may be able to work myself into his arms, his bed.

It's not that I wanted to use him for his power. Quite the opposite actually. I genuinely admired him, wanted him. My heart fluttered that day nearly four months ago when he addressed my old unit personally about infiltrating an old dust mine for resources.

That's where we found the plans of an old abandoned dust experiment. It was something about fusing dust with the mind, creating a power somehow stronger or equal to that of the maidens from the fairytales. Silly to base something off of a forgotten fairytale, but, who was I to judge?

My objective was to gather the rest of the information Adam was seeking, and it just so happens that the White Fang (The mercenary group Adam leads) had been given a critical piece of information regarding this experiment. Our rivals, the Kandola had a crucial set of analyses needed to further Adam's study.

Only one problem. Their base was located within the ruins of Mountain Glenn, surrounded by grimm and because of that, guarded by their strongest warriors. None of our men sent to retrieve the data ever made it back. It's only natural for everyone to fear such a dangerous mission. This is why I abandoned my unit, making my way to their base by myself. Not only would it be harder to notice me, I would be able to move much quicker alone, hopefully I'd be able to avoid some obstacles

Luckily, melding with shadows was my specialty. I guess you could say I was an assassin of sorts. Using the darkness to move quickly, dispatching anyone and anything in my way.

These people were to cocky. Didn't even try to hide their makeshift base. The cellar of a now rundown building. No outside guards. Probably figured they'd hear someone fighting grimm before they managed to break in. That's where they made their mistake. Slipping through the door and then up to the rafters was child's play. Quickly I scaled the beams, heading towards the back room. Two men were gathered there. This had to be where the information was, I hadn't encountered anyone else in the vicinity.

I jumped down from the ceiling, landing on one of the men, using a back walkover to gain distance between the other man, using that moment to draw my weapon, Gambol Shroud and readied myself to attack. However, neither man seemed to care about my presence, almost as if they had planned for it. Perhaps I wasn't as undetected as I thought. They hadn't even bothered to engaged in combat, they just left, even closing the door behind them.  
There's no way that this isn't some kind of trap, but, while I'm here I may as well compile the data on my scroll like I originally planned.

A mobile computer system sat near the corner of the room. Looks like it's the only thing running, so I might as well try. I activated the system, surprisingly it was kept unlocked, no password needed. This was too easy. Regardless I had a mission I needed to complete, so without second thought I clicked my scroll into the machine and downloaded the data files.

Several maps were displayed, focused mainly around Atlas and Vale. A plethora of locations marked on each map. If I had to guess, I would say that they were abandoned dust mines that were used for whatever experiment they were planning. I wonder if they ever tested it?

Melding dust with the human body wasn't unheard of, the side effects were random, ranging from a simple headache to death. I wouldn't recommend it.

My scroll had finished downloading the content, a beep alerted me of its progress. Quickly I disconnected the device from the computer, shoving it back into the protection of my pocket. Adam would definitely have to agree to a meeting for this information. Maybe I'd finally get to see what's under his mask? I couldn't wait.

Obviously I would have to. It would have been amateurish not to have noticed the low growling on the other side of the door.  
So that was their plan. Running away, but not before releasing a couple of Grimm to hopefully rip me apart.

The beast's rammed through the door, causing the frame to collapse, leaving me cornered with these two beasts. An Ursa and a beowulf. Nothing to hard. Getting out would be the hard part, maybe I could use the bear's strength to aid me?

Little wolfy was fast, rushing me and swinging his claws wildly, no method to his madness, a fatal mistake. These monsters were easily sliced in half. Now I was left with only the Ursa to deal with.  
I moved carefully around him using the rafters to get over him, close to my way out. It didn't take long before he rose his giant paws to attack, swiping down towards me. This, of course was easy to dodge using my semblance. Allowing me to jump back up to the rafters as the bear crashed through the wall, creating a large enough opening for me to pass through. My next move was simple, I'd leapt back down, cleaving the beast in his spine, severing it and ultimately causing the beast's death.

Good, I'd be the first to make it back to camp after infiltrating this place.

Rubble still blocked my entrance, but a small gap on the ceiling had opened up, a small beam of light pierced through, the surface was just a bit beyond my grasp, but with a bit of effort, it wouldn't be to hard to make this gap large enough for my figure to fit through. Having feline perks made it easy to get out of situations like this, my semblance made it easier, I don't even need to fit through the hole, I just need to be close enough so I can use my shadows to project myself to the surface.

Apparently, I wasn't as sneaky as I'd originally thought, it seemed as if everything that had happened was planned. As one of the guards I saw earlier could be seen through the cracks in the ceiling. "Don't you know that curiosity always kills the cat?"

By this time my lungs felt as if they were on fire, my knees were trembling, I wasn't sure how I was standing. My vision was blurring, it was impossible to recognize the man speaking to me now. It took only seconds for the fire in my lungs to spread throughout my body, involuntary tears fell to the ground, my knees giving away moments later.

Rubble from the cracked ceiling fell only steps from me, small chunks of debris hit my shoulders. I could vaguely hear footsteps walking closer to me, shoes crunching on the bits of stone. A hand met the bottom of my jaw, forcing me to look up. I only guessed that the person in front of me was the same man speaking.  
"I'm sure my boss won't mind if I rough you up a bit, kitty-cat." My persecutor scoffed, his hand releasing my chin, nearly causing me to collapse, luckily my desire to get out of this place, allowing the information I collected to make its way back to my unit.

No longer did I have the strength to raise my head, all I could do is keep just conscious enough to stay upright, hoping to shake whatever this is off. The cement ground was the only thing I could focus on, my sight was still damaged but I was fighting off the exhausting feeling. If this man didn't kill me, I could probably make my escape in just a few minutes.  
A blotch of red hit the ground, splattered in an abstract pattern. My eyes widened as I took in a sharp breath, I convinced myself that I'd been stabbed, but there was never an increase in pain, and after a moment passed, a body slumped to the floor, must've been the man taunting me earlier, but no one knew I was here, who would be helping?

There was now an arm over my shoulders comforting me, another hand reached under my chin, forcing me to look at them. It was...Adam."

"Why did you leave your unit?" He questioned, with traces of worry in his voice.

I'm safe, that was the only thing I was fully able to understand before my mind and body finally collapsed.

People kept coming in and out of the room I was in. I couldn't tell who they were, no one I knew, they didn't make me feel afraid, I trusted these people, they must've been helping me. Even he'd visited a couple times, asking about my condition.

Adam….

 _ **To be continued…..**_


	2. Chapter 2: Affiliation

**Chapter Two: Affiliations**

" _I am there, waiting, watching, keeping to the shadows. But, when you need me, I'll step out of the shadows, and protect whats mine!"  
\- JBaby Writes_ ****

  
 **A** lmost every night Adam visited the recovery tent I was staying in, though I was still out of it and was unable to speak, which was alright, as he hadn't said much to me. Adam only placed his hand on my cheek, possibly to see if I had a reaction, making sure that I would be able to pull through. My eyes intently focused on his mask each time I saw him.

Adam must've known that I was able to see and hear everything in the room, the morning after my injuries I heard him addressing the caretaking staff not to mention a thing about my condition in front of me. He stated that in my current condition, I needn't worry about trivial things.

Six weeks passed, around the fourth week mark I was able to stay awake a few hours at a time, Adam didn't come in as frequently then, but he had at least one meal that day with me and during the middle of the night, when most of the medical staff returned to their own tents, he brought me snacks, since my sleep patterned was so random. Talking wasn't his strong suit, our conversations began and ended with:  
"How are you?"  
"Are you being treated right?"  
"Do you get enough to eat?"  
"You're comfortable, right?"

I wish that he would speak to me a bit more, I had so much to report, but he wasn't having it, I needed to recover before worrying about my report. Still, even with the little time he spent with me gave me butterflies, I was anxious and excited at the same time, my body was hot, I swear my cheeks flushed red each time he walked in the tent.

The last week he'd nearly stopped coming, he was here Thursday and again on Saturday, but he hasn't returned since. It had only been two days, so I assume he went on a mission. I had been released to my own tent on Sunday anyways, so if he was around, he probably wanted to give me some space.

It was late evening, probably close to midnight when I heard a rather disgruntled man push the mesh curtains away, walking into my tent. "Oh, the princess graces us with her consciousness." He scoffed, crossing his arms. Putting the book I'd been reading back on the shelf next to my cot and stood to greet him.

I knew who this man was, he was almost as elusive as Adam, and currently serves as Adam's right hand. Farrand Aazael. "Is there a problem?" I questioned, wondering about his sudden intrusion. He shook his head, jade eyes piercing through me. "Taurus requests a meeting with you, since you are feeling well enough to prattle to everyone in camp."

Obviously this guy was in a bad mood. He wasn't exactly known for his good moods, so I decided to ignore the attitude and simply nodd. "And where can I find him?"  
Again, the irritation resonated out from Farrand. "He isn't quite ready for you, princess. He'll be in the meeting room around midnight. I wouldn't suggest visiting before." Farrand spoke in a half growl before turning and exiting.

Since it's Adam who requested my presence, I need to change into standard clothes rather than my pajamas. I'd be a bit early but with the time it would take to change, it would be nearly midnight. I'd simply wait outside if I heard him attending to other matters.

The camp was nearly abandoned. I heard from a few medical staff earlier that Adam had ordered most of the mercenaries here to assist the request from a small, unmarked village called Hayawan. I heard the village was a place where humans and faunus could live together in harmony. Adam hadn't been very enthused with helping Hayawan, but since it was a faunus who requested, everyone able to fight was sent off, leaving only a few to defend the camp, himself included.

I made my way to the main tent, knowing that Adam would most likely appreciate me arriving early, rather than waiting until the exact stroke of midnight.

"This is nonsense, Farrand!" I jumped back, startled by the power in Adam's voice.I decided to simply wait outside for whatever business he was discussing to end. "She's a floozy, and she's playing you. It's obvious Adam. She survived that poison, no one else returned from that the underground hideout in Mountain Glenn because of it! Do you honestly believe that she got lucky?" Farrand shot back, his voice matching the thunderous roar of Adam's.

A loud thud echoed from inside. "Do you have any proof of these accusations? Or is your tongue just slipping due to jealousy?"

These two had been going at it for awhile it seemed, and from what they'd both said, it was because of myself. Farrand thought that I was a traitor, working with Kandola. But, I'm the daughter of one of the leader's of the White Fang. Whether or not Farrand new that was up in the air, but I'm certain that Adam knew I wouldn't leave to join our rivals.

A few more words were exchanged between the two. Their debate heating up, I honestly debated walking back to my own tent and had turned to do so before I heard the curtain being thrown back and Farrand walked past me, turning his head to glare at me before cold, gloved hands grasped my shoulders, causing me to jump again, before turning me around and embracing me. "Blake, are you feeling alright?" Adam's voice was honeyed now, not daring to raise in frustration. "Yes." My answer was simple, Adam was our leader, and because of that I mimicked the way people spoke to my father.

"I trust that Farrand hasn't given you too much trouble?" He asked with a raised brow, as he released his embrace, and turned walking back towards the tent, signaling me to follow.

I didn't bother to answer his question, Farrand was a bit annoying, but answering would most likely just lead to Adam interrogating him. Its how my father operated. If something was worth being mentioned or hidden, you would speak, if nothing was worth mentioning, it wasn't worth the energy to deny.

I was lead to a table, Adam took his place on the far side of the table and I took the seat closest to the door. "The information you managed to retrieve has proven to be very vital to our investigation. It seems they've been performing rather dangerous experiments with Dust. Melding it with themselves, animals and even Grimm. The animals either showed no effect or died instantly. But, they are reckless, mixing multiple types with a host instead of introducing samples slowly."

He took my scroll, showing the maps I'd downloaded, they were planning another experiment near Hayawan, agitating Grimm enough to cause an invasion, kidnap someone from the small village and use them for their newest experiment. They were only taking humans, since they were also a faunus rights groups. A man code-named Snow was supplying them with the highly explosive dust mixtures. Adam wanted to pursue this man, and he was planning to go personally. And as everyone in camp knew, Adam worked alone, even though he was our leader. Once in awhile he'd ask someone else to come along, but they had to be equal to his power, so he normally took Farrand or another woman known as Yue. The three of them were possibly the strongest of our division.

After explaining his plan to pursue this man named "Snow", he slid my scroll back to me, clearing his throat. "Do you have any..questions?" His voice seemed a bit different, almost like he was lost in thought, distracted by daydreams or something, Adam was totally out of him. I replied with a "No" and there was a strange period of quietness between us, it was rather awkward. I couldn't see a thing through his mask, but I could tell that he was just staring at me.

"Blake…" I jumped out of my skin when he finally spoke, not expecting him to say a word, but it was welcomed. "Yes sir?" I replied rather tense. Adam just carried such a heavy Aura around, but that is what attracted me to him.

Of course, nothing could prepare me for what he said next.

"I...would like you to come to Atlas with me."

The mission I took on to retrieve the information that Adam sought after was specifically done, so that i could actually spend some time with him. However, I never expected he'd actually choose me to actually go on a mission with him.

"But, why?" I questioned, in pure disbelief, there was no way I held the same calibur of skill as he did.

"Why?" He repeated, sounding just as confused as I was.

I heard the curtains fly open behind me as one of the soldiers ran in. "Sir! The Grimm outbreak is just a distraction. He's here!"

 _ **To be continued…...**_


	3. Chapter 3: Monster

_**Chapter Three: Monster**_

 _"Every Beauty needs her Beast to protect her from everything, but him."_

 _-N.R. Hart_

 **T** he anger suddenly spreading across Adam's face told me all that I needed to know. I stood, turning towards the door and headed back towards my tent to grab Gambol Shroud. Once I reached outside, I could see some smoke near the front of camp, the medical crew was in panic, they weren't taught to defend the camp from intruders, left alone the horde of Grimm that would probably show up due to panic.

Footsteps quickly fell in pace with mine only a few feet behind me. "Princess, catch." Farrand called with nickname he'd given me. I spun on my heels, catching my weapon. He and I were pretty much the only competent fighters besides Adam in camp. "The rest of the unit isn't far from here, hopefully, when the Grimm turn towards us, they'll return to help with the defense. Until then, we need to focus on defending this place from Ligero and his friends."

My mind flashed back to the information that Adam had showed me only minutes ago. Ligero was the name of Kandola's leader. He'd probably come to retrieve the information stolen from his base. But, week's had passed, why had he waited for so long?

There was a man standing before an aflamed tent, his clothes were ripped, torn, frayed. He dressed in mostly black with the exception of his dark blue coat and a white rivet waist hair was possibly the most eye catching feature about him, it was a navy color with threads of white weaved through.

"Oh? The big bad bull-y sent his nearly acquired girlfriend and a wannabe huntsman to fend me off, huh?" Ligero chuckled in a flamboyant voice. Both Farrand and I stood there, not observing him, but trying to figure out if he had anyone hiding in the shadows.

The two of us had night-vision, but night-vision didn't make up for a strategically placed ambush. It would be pretty foolish of him to come out to our camp, knowing that Adam was here, along with Farrand. They were two of the strongest, and there was no way he'd put everything at risk coming alone.

"What's wrong kitty-kitty? Are you scared? Gonna hunch up and hiss at me?" Ligero taunted, and honestly with the tone of his voice, he was pissing me off fairly quickly.

It seemed that Farrand was getting sick of of this man as well, his grip tightened on his greatsword and he leaped towards Ligero, preparing to attack. Farrand was aiming for a downwards swoop, but he was reckless for attacking someone he'd never fought before headfirst. Ligero easily moved to the side avoiding the blade and using it as leverage to back kick him, knocking him to the ground. When Farrand attempted to get back up, Ligero delivered another kick to his skull, knocking him out. Great.

Ligero turned towards me, pointing "Now, now, you and I don't need distractions." He started walking towards me, his wolves tail swaying slightly as he curled his lips back to an aggressive gesture while crouching into a defensive posture. "Listen, Belladonna, I have quite a history with Adam, and I've noticed that he's taken a little liking to you. Because of that, I'll have to defile every inch, please, fight back."

I seperated my katan from my cleaver, prepared to defend from this man's insanity. Thankfully, I'm not as thick headed as Farrand, I always allowed my opponent to attack first. Hopefully Adam would show up soon, he should have already been here.

"I hope for your sake, that you didn't forget to sharpen your claws!" He yelled, lunging for my throat, using my semblance, I dodged out of the way, leaping over his shoulders, landing behind him, spinning and slashing towards his spine. I should've known better, Ligero just reached behind him, catching my blade.

This man was undoubtedly stronger than me, I wouldn't win by myself.

Proving my thoughts true, Ligero flexed his arm, using the force of his aura to push me back, and knock me on the ground. I was staring up at him almost in horror when he grabbed Farrand's greatsword, swinging to towards me, I merely flinched and he missed me, planting the blade into the tree next to me. He missed on purpose, Ligero was just playing with me, and what was entertaining to him, was a fight for my own life.

A grin grew on his face he grabbed my collar, using brute force to pick me up and throw me into a branch above us, tearing the sword loose from the tree and holding it up as an obstacle for me to dodge. I used my semblance once again to land behind him, hoping I could somehow catch him off guard. If my attacks were to slow, he'd easily annihilate me. I had little choice but to rush him with a bunch of small furry attacks, which he blocked as if they were nothing. Our blade clashed together multiple times before he decided to tease me but just dodging my strikes.

I leaped back, created a bit of distance, before unleashing a gravity dust-infused attack. This was the strongest attack that I could manage in my current state and Farrand's sword helped him block it like it was a normal strike. Ligero reached around his blade, grabbing my wrists, and throwing me to the ground, following up with a downwards blow from the sword that I narrowly avoided, rolling to the side and when I did, he kicked me in the side, hard enough to launch me into a tree, my aura shimmered upon impact. Maybe I could use this moment as a distraction, I waited for Ligero to approach before moving, flipping up to the tree branch, with help from my shadows and striking downwards, make a sufficient slice in his shoulder.

Ligero winced in pain, grabbing my wrists a throwing me back once again, before chasing me with his own flurry of attacks that I barely managed to block, using my Aura as an extra shield to keep my weapon from breaking. He quickly got wise to that trick, delivering a strong punch to my ribs, making my Aura shimmer again and again as his blade sliced into my leg, causing me to stumble. I had no choice but to try and keep dodging and blocking each attack he kept throwing at me. I was too busy concentrating on the sword, that I didn't have time to worry about physical attacks and Ligero managed to grab me again, throwing me to the ground, planting himself over me, keeping me pinned. "Poor little kitty, you really thought you had a chance didn't you? Why don't you scream your lovers name? He'll come running to help." He taunted, running his hand down to my thigh, stroking me sensually, causing me to shiver. "I can still fight…." I muttered, barely loud enough to be audible, feeling the wounds dealt to me in the fight and the weakness that I still carried from the poison.

Here I was, running out of breath, Aura breaking and not able to shake Ligero off and he was acting like the wound on his shoulder, pouring out blood wasn't bothering him.

Ligero flicked his hand, my eyes caught a glimpse of something shimmering in the moonlight. He stabbed something into the open gash on my leg, making me scream from the pain as my body slowly grew numb. I couldn't let it end here, everyone in the camp could be killed if I failed.

I struggled a lot, but I managed to move my leg just enough to kick him off of me, grasping my weapon and using another charged gravity dust attack to slice through him. Miraculously he was still able to move, turning to swing Farrands sword towards me, but now his movements were slow, I whirled around the blade, creating another slice through him. Ligero slouched forward, but he was somehow still mobile, I turned to see him still mobile, gripping the sword and aiming for me again, I was terrified, he was beyond dead and still able to move, my body froze, numb from whatever he injected me with and just overall afraid of him. I was so scared, I didn't even know if I was shaking.

But, I was lucky, before he could reach me, a red blade sliced his head off, causing his body to finally collapse. Adam had made it, he saved me.

I fell to my knees, exhausted beyond belief. Breathing heavily, my heart pounding.

Adam turned towards me with a smile, re-sheathing his sword and walking over to me bending down and placing his hands on my shoulders. His touch instantly comforted me.

I started laughing, "That seemed a bit too easy for you. He seemed so….immortal.." I sighed, lunging into Adam's arm's, wrapping mine around his waist. He returned my embrace.

"Ligero's semblance, it allows him to create a clone of himself, it didn't used to be that strong, but since his experiments, he's gotten stronger, the only way to stop the clone is to kill him, drain his aura, or cut the clones head off. " He explained, weeping me up into his arms. "But, he bled, a lot." I protested, wanting more of an explanation.

Adam only replied with a grim"I know." leaving me with more questions than answers.

I was taken back to the medical tent, and treated for my new wounds, given and stamina drink and sent off. Adam stayed with me the whole time, at my side, holding my hand as one of the nurses stitched up my leg. He refused to let me walk, insisting on carrying me back to my room and placing me on the bed, calling someone on his scroll, asking them to come and help me out of my clothes and clean me up.

After waiting in silence with Adam for what seemed like an eternity, he glance out the tent over his shoulder, and turned, exiting, right before someone else entered.

"Wow Blake, you sure are into getting yourself beat up these days." I looked up to the new voice, seeing one of my first friends when I first joined up with the White Fang. Ilia Amitola.

"Just trying to impress the boss." I rolled my eyes, half-joking. "You must be doing a good job. Every time I've seen him, he's usually frowning, but I saw a bit of a smirk as he was leaving." She giggled, sitting on the bed next to me. "So do you actually need help? Or is he just worrying too much?" Sighing, I replied "Well, I'll be fine by myself, but he's worried that i might accidently rip the stitches open. I don't even really need them, the wound wasn't as deep as I thought, but he insisted that I needed them. "

"Oh! I get it!" Ilia chimed, standing, with her hands on her hips leaning towards me. "You are disappointed that he didn't help you change aren't you?"

I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks. "N-no! No that's not true!" I protested to no avail, the smile on her face told me that she didn't believe a word I was saying. "You know, you aren't the only one in camp with your eye on Adam. I wouldn't wait too long before telling him."

Ilia was right, and sadly I had a few more days of recovery before I could do anything. Honestly, I think I was only using that as an excuse to not talk to him. As much as I admired him, Adam was quite intimidating, strange how that very intimidation is what drove me crazy even more.

Thankfully, I only had to rest for ten days, Adam had refused to leave for Atlas until I was well enough to go, and one of the nurses would let him know, rather than him taking my word for it. We barely knew each other, yet he already knew that I'd probably lie just to keep him from leaving me in camp. But, leaving with him wasn't the only thing on my mind, I had a rather, alternative goal.

Standing outside of Adam's tent was never more intense, my heart was pounding, a thousand thoughts filling my mind. Requesting a solo meeting with Adam wasn't something that anyone in camp could do, unless you had a higher rank, you normally couldn't speak with him, not that he discriminated against lower ranks, it's just he only had so much time in the day and he couldn't waste time with issues not brought to the attention of those of us going out and completing rather dangerous tasks.

I wasn't sure how many deep breaths I took, trying to work up the courage to walk inside, I nearly screamed when I felt Ilia wrap her hand around my arm. "Come on, go in." She laughed at the expression on my face. I didn't get Adam to agree to such a late meeting so you could skip out. It'll be a surprise when you walk inside in my place. A welcoming treat, if you ask me."

"Ilia, I don't even know how to ask!" I protested, half tempted to push her inside and run back to my tent. Knowing my luck, she'd just explain the situation to him and I didn't want that. "Just fake it till you make it!" Ilia commanded, pushing me into the tent. I turned back to Ilia trying to object before realizing that she was gone.

"Blake?" Adam's voice called out quizzically.

Slowly I turned around sheepishly, Adam was sitting at the table, going through some papers. I hoped he wasn't waiting for Ilia yet. "Are you…..alright?" I nodded, silently, twiddling my thumbs, just staring at him. Ilia told me to fake it until I make it, so maybe pushing some false confidence to the surface would suffice.

I walked over to the other side of the table, sitting down in the empty chair. "Is there something you would like to discuss?" He stacked the documents, placing them in a pile, before folding his hands on the table between us. I was racking my brain for ideas, how exactly does a lower rank merc seduce the Colonel, even if I was the daughter of one of the high leaders?

There's no way I could keep silent in front of him forever, so the only tactic I could think of was one I had recently read.

"Actually, yes, there is." I began, my voice thankfully keeping solid and not letting any of my inner anxiety out. Adam was listening, probably figuring out that Ilia wasn't showing up by now. :About my...Salary."

"You want a raise?" Adam interrupted, before I could finish my thought, which intimidated me slightly. "Well…." I paused, slipping my foot out of my boot, resting my heel on the end of the chair and placing my foot against his inner thigh. "Something like that." I added extra emphasis on 'something', flashing a sly grin, teasing him by biting my own lip in a playful, sexual manner.

No matter how hard he tried, Adam couldn't hide the smile that took over his face. "Well now, Belladonna, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems as if your yearning for intimacy?"

This was my chance, I could either confirm or deny my feelings for him. Its funny how I tried to allow myself to think there was more than once answer. I slowly closed my eyes, letting out a sensual sigh. "Now?" I suggested.

Never did I expect Adam to move so quickly, he was around the table, grabbing my hand and pulling me outside, towards his tent in less than a second! Since Adam was the colonel, his tent was a bit farther away from everyone elses, making it the perfect location for an intimate encounter.

Before I knew it, Adam had me pinned against his bed, his hands on my thighs, his lips at my neck, he was interested in me, I knew that, but i wouldn't have guessed that he had any sexual feelings pent up towards me. "Blake….How do you want it?" He inquired, leering over me. Since I hadn't exactly expected to get this far, I wasn't exactly sure on how I should tell him that I'd never actually slept with a man.

"Uhhh, well…." My shy demeanor returned. "Slowly then?" He suggested, almost as if he was reading my thoughts. "S-sure!" I was elated, afraid that he'd want to go all out immediately.

Adam's hands reached the ribbon keeping my jacket close, untying it and slipping it off my shoulders. It suddenly clicked that tonight would be the night I'd finally get to see his face, he'd no longer be a mystery to me. Lifting my hand up, I caressed his cheek, lifting myself up enough to press our lips together, which he graciously accepted, moving his hand onto my ass to help support me. Cautiously, I moved my hand to the corner of his mask. "Can I?"

"Of course, if I'm undressing you, it's only fair for you to do the same."

My heart was pounding, this was my goal, to see the man under the mask. I gently lifted the mask off his face, placing it on the nightstand next to the bed. He was every bit as gorgeous as I expected, his eyes were a dark green.

He unwrapped the ribbon I kept around my right wrist, forcing both my hands behind my back, securing them. "Let me know if I'm going too far, alright?" He smiled, kissing me again.

With me tied up, he was free to do as he wished, that thought excited me. He loosened my boots, allowing me to kick them off, after unbuttoning my pants, Adam didn't hesitate in shoving his hand down my pants, not bothering to take his glove off, the shock of the frigid material touch my clit sent chills up my spine. He pulled his hand out, examining the wetness on them, evidence of me getting turned on. "Kitten, it seems you're very happy to be in these close quarters with me." He stated, getting down on his knees in front of me, pulling my pants and intimates down with him. Adam was toying with me, placing kisses on my inner thighs and pelvis, but purposely avoided where I wanted his touch most. He crawled over me, hands reaching behind me, unclipping my bra and unhooking the straps, throwing it to the side when he was done. Those warm lips were against my neck again, as he planted his knee between my thighs and fondled my breasts, earning a few moans and some ragged breathing from me.

If he wasn't my boss, I'd be yelling at him, demanding him to satisfy me, instead of teasing me as he obviously loved doing. However, the fact that he was my boss and I was about to screw him, made me that much hotter. "Adam….P-please!" I begged, squirming, trying to loosen my binds. He backed up, taking off his gloves, showing a wicked smile. "I'm going to make you orgasm, harder than you ever have before, alright, Kitten?" He didn't even wait for an answer before he grabbed my legs, forcing them to spread as his free hand slid inside of me roughly, I groaned in pain. His thumb concentrated on my clit as the two fingers he inserted searched for my hotspot, making the heat fill my body. I almost felt as if waves of my desire just flooded off of me. "Having fun?" Adam wondered aloud, picking up speed. My body gave out, I rested on the bed, a stream of drool spilling from mouth as his fingers finally reached the special place they searched for. All I could manage was some more moans, as my body spasmed before him, showing that he was doing a good job. However, before I could reach my peak he removed his fingers, licking them clean.

He crawled back over me, fondling my breast again, licking my nipple, playfully biting it. After all my squirming and struggling, I finally freed my hands, and I used this moment to knock him off, quickly pinning him to the bed under me. A loving sigh escaped his lips "Master of escape, huh?" His hand gilded around my thigh, re-entering me from behind, this time instantly finding my sweet spot. "A-ah! N-no fair!" I replied, my hair falling over my shoulder as my arms weakened from his touch. I could feel his erection pressing against my thigh.

"Y-ou said that I could...u-undress you!" I argued with a shaky voice.

His lips met mine, stroking my tongue with his, I sunk a little lower, feeling Adam's erection pressed now against my stomach. As I placed my hand over his hardened member, his fingers slid out. I was confident I now had control.

First I got him out of his jacket, he threw it across the room with my own, I didn't worry about anything else at the moment, I just unbuttoned his pants, sliding them down, he kicked them off with his shoes, to my surprise, he didn't have anything on under his pants. I was kinda intimidated by the size of his member, Adam was definitely above average. He chuckled seeing my bewildered expression "Don't worry, It'll fit." he teased.

I traced his length with a single finger, he gazed at me with such a lust filled desire in his eyes. That look immediately made me want to soothe his wants. I maybe new at this, but all I had to do was copy what I'd read in books, surely I could satisfy him once I figured out what he liked. Adam grabbed my hand, spooking me a bit but his sudden movement. "You can abuse me how you like, I'm not fragile." He wrapped my hand around his cock, and kept his hand around mine to guide me, he then started squeezing my hand tightly around his shaft, showing me that he quite enjoyed a bit of rough housing. The tighter my grip became, the more his breathing picked up, and satisfaction started to grow on his face. "I can do it." I spoke after a while, wanting to give him my best. "Kitten, I'm going to explode all over your insides." He commented, releasing his grip on me, already stimulating himself.

Sliding off the bed, I descended to my knees, ready to try. The girls in my books would always start by licking the lip, to send a spark of excitement through the man's body, since Adam had alerted me that he liked to play a bit rough, nibble slightly on the tip, just to see his reaction. A grunt finally escaped Adam, his hand finding the back of my head, tangling his fingers within my hair. He was subtly demanding more attention, which I gladly obliged, taking his member farther into my mouth, my tongue swirling around his shaft.

I earned a few more moans or approval and his hand grew heavier, forcing me to take a couple more inches in. His hand moved to my cat ears, rubbing them as I gladly served him in every way possible. But, I wasn't used to this, breathing was manageable but I couldn't keep up for much longer. Letting go, I replaced my mouth with my hand, gripping hard, pumping softly. My thumb played with his tip as I licked a couple more times, just to get under his skin.

It seemed Adam wasn't one to be teased, he sat up, pulling me over top of him before flipping me back onto the mattress, positioning himself over me, I felt a sharp pain shoot through my body, Adam took my hand within his, comforting me as he waited for the pain to fade and my que to go ahead. His hand returned to my hips as he thrust himself deeply inside of me. There was still some pain, but pleasure came with it, though I admit it did feel a bit awkward, it wasn't too much later that we'd reached our climax. I almost felt disappointed with the result, it wasn't as magical as books made it out to be, but I still enjoyed it.

Adam wasn't satisfied fully either it seemed, with my ok, we went at it again.

Sun arose the next morning, and Adam easily convinced me to move my belongings to his tent, he wanted to keep me close, so that he'd be able to spend more time with me, and so that others in the camp would know that we were a thing, so we didn't have to worry about rumors.

Ilia was elated seeing my messed up hair as I was walking back to my tent to grab the last of my things and she ran up to me grabbing my arm as I walked. "Seems like you're night went as planned. Any saucy details you want to share, since I am the one that technically got you laid." She implied, a wide grin across her face.

"Well, let's just say, he's well….endowed."

 **To be continued….**


	4. Chapter 4: Duality

**Chapter Four: Duality**

" _Love is the hardest habit to break, and the most difficult to satisfy."  
-Drew Barrymore_

" _ **D**_ _arling,_ we need to get ready."

.

.

"Blake?"

.

.  
."Blake!" The same voice kept repeating, calling out to me, and after a few more times hollering out, I felt a chilled hand on the side of my face, causing me to jerk awake, slapping away the hand. My eyes locked on Adam, sitting on the edge of the bed, already in his combat gear. I abruptly sat up, remembering what day it was. "Oh no, I slept in didn't I? What time is it?" I was frantic, jumping out of bed, grabbing my own gear, ready to throw everything on and head out.

Adam placed his hand on my shoulder, calming me. "We still have time, why don't you go wash up in the stream?" He suggested, heading out of the tent.

I decided that taking a quick dip in the stream was a good idea, my hair desperately needed washed. The stream was a bit cold, but when you live outside of the kingdoms, you quickly get used to cold baths, and sleeping on the ground. A cold bath was nearly as relaxing as a warm one. Adam followed me to the stream, he was laying on the small dock he built, hands behind his head, relaxing, keeping a keen ear out for anything approaching.

Once I had finished washing my body off, I hopped up on the wooden planks just in front of him, so I could lather my hair and tease him a bit. As expected, he sat up immediately, turning to see my back as I worked the shampoo through my hair. "Here, let me help." He replied, replacing my hands with his. "Thank you." I replied, gratefully, long hair could be a pain to wash at times, especially with how long mine is.

He treated my hair so gently, making sure all the shampoo got washed out, remembering a remark that I'd made about never being able to get all the soap out, and he combed the conditioner through my hair, making sure to brush out any tangle he could find. Of course, after my hair was rinsed out for the last time, Adam couldn't help but groupe me at least once, grabbing me from behind and shoving his tongue down my throat.

After our quick makeout session, I had to get ready fairly quickly, the train was on the way and we needed to hurry to the edge of Forever Fall in order to catch the train heading towards the eastern shoreline where we'd board an airship, Adam had already bribed the pilot.  
Adam had handed me a satchel, which I threw over my shoulder, following his lead out of the camp.

I looked back towards Adam's tent and noticed Farrand leaning against a tree, shaking his head in disapproval. He had been a bit strange since Adam and I started bonding.  
Stopping for a moment I saw him mouth the words "You're acting like a lost puppy." I frowned, he was acting like a child.

Adam noticed I stopped and halted his own walk to turn back towards me. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing." I replied in a monotone voice, turning back towards him, ignoring Farrands existence.

Rain began to fall, the breeze carrying a pleasant grassy scent, a fragrance I adored. I caught another sent flowing through the breeze, vanilla, almond and a faint hint of pepper. It was Adam, I easily fell in love with his scent, it was part of the reason I was never reluctant to his embrace. I sighed lovingly, recalling all the nights we'd spent together, each of them had been unique and I'd fallen head over heels for him during that time.

The train whistled in the distance, snapping me out of my trance, preparing to leap from the cliffside. Adam grabbed my hand, practically flinging me off the mountain, luckily I was paying just enough attention to keep from overshooting the train and I managed to land just before the edge, not before slipping and falling before I stopped in my tracks. Surely my ankle and shoulder are going to end up bruised.  
He landed next to me, offering a hand to help me up and placing his arm around my waist to steady me. "Sorry." He muttered, helping me jump down between the cars, we took off our masks, shoving them in our bags as we passed through the vestibule, pretending we were just a couple walking through the carts.

We played the part of a huntsmen couple who were hired to protect the train and the passengers if we had to make an emergency stop to deal with some grimm.

As fate would have it, we weren't in the train for long before a thud hit the side, a claw piercing part of the metal roof. Adam and I shared a glance. "We may as well, wouldn't want to get caught in our lie." He muttered low enough for only me to hear, before heading back towards the door we'd entered from, leaping back up to the roof, opposite of our car. I followed, looking back to our car as I jumped, seeing a large Nevermore planted on top, growling as it saw us.

"Hell yeah! Bought time I got to kick worthy grimm butt!" I heard an ecstatic shriek from behind us. Both Adam and I glanced back, the voice came from a woman with long blonde hair. She looked like a huntress, at least I hoped she was if she was going to attempt to fight this monster.

"I thought they said there wouldn't be any huntsman on board?" Adam muttered in a confused tone.

The nevermore rose, flapping its wings, taking to sky, smaller nevermore's coming from the trees, dive bombing the top of the train. They were easy to dodge, even easier to kill, smaller grimm were weaker than their larger counterparts. Simple bullets could end their lives, no energy needed to be expended. The large nevermore seemed to be our only worry, and with three huntsman level grimm slayers on board, this would be no problem.

We managed to kill most of the smaller grimm, but a few still managed to flee back into the forest. The larger Nevermore circled around, landing on the end of the train. "We need to keep it at bay, that thing could derail the whole train."I replied to Adam, noting how harshly the rear car swayed when the grimm planted its claws in it. Adam nodded and we started advancing, there were two cars between us and the blonde haired woman.

As we reached the second car, I loaded gravity dust into Gambol Shroud, already realizing the plan Adam was putting into play as he took the lead, turning towards me before leaping towards the next car, allowing me to jump, using an assist jump, adding to my momentum as I landed on the car just behind the blonde, unleashing a gravity filled blast directed towards the nevermore.

The grimm barely avoided the attack, taking flight again, its left leg only being grazed. He flapped his wings, launching a fleet of feathers towards us and the train. Thankfully, this attack wasn't accurate, so there were feathers that missed, and the three of us only had to keep a few from tearing through the roof of the train. The blonde's weapons were made for close combat and with this fight, it seemed as if she wouldn't be useful. Adam was quickly back at my side, slicing through a feather aimed towards me.

Jumping to the car in front of us, the huntress shooting an energy round out of her gauntlet, hitting the beast in its face, causing the creature to drop down into reach again. However, this put the huntress in danger, the grimm's neck swooped in to swallow her whole.

It was out of character for him, but Adam moved in front of her, using Wilt to take the damage. He pushed the birds beak back, grabbing the huntresses wrist and flinging her overtop the grim, to which she followed through with a direct energy blast to it's mask. Quickly I morphed my Katana into it's chain scythe mode, throwing it and hooking it into the corner of its mouth, leaping off the train to use the momentum to fly above the beast, pulling my sword free, unleashing a less powerful, but still damaging gravity blade to the same spot the huntress had hit, cracking the bone. I leapt off and landed next to Adam.

"Ugh, how is this thing still standing?!" The blonde scoffed.

There was a rustle in the foliage on the right side of the train, a smaller taijitu leaped out of the forest, the huntress and I jumped back to avoid it, while Adam sprung forward. "Oh come on!" She muttered again.

"Huntress!" I called out, formulating my own plan to kill the nevermore. "Yang." She replied, turning her attention towards me. "Yang…"I repeated. "I have an idea, we need to knock that bird off the train for it to work. "

"No problem there." She smirked, charging another energy blast.

"Once he's off I need you to throw me at him!" I shouted, throwing my cleaver into the steel of the train, so I wouldn't end up losing it. "Adam!" My call reached him and he turned, showing me a smirk as well.

Yang assaulted the beast with a barrage of energy blasts and she along with Adam hit the bird on last time, with a combined Energy burst and Flame blast, the raven hit the ground, quickly getting up and launching itself towards the train, aiming for the car this time rather than us.

Both Yang and I started running towards the end of the last car, she was ahead of me, I readied gambol shroud into chain scythe position again, while running past Adam and grabbing wilt from him. We reached the edge, Yang turned, grabbing my wrist and slinging me towards the bird, to secure my return, I threw my chain scythe back towards the train, Adam caught it.

As I stabbed wilt into the back of the birds neck, it let out a howl of pain, dropping to the ground, surfing on the gravel and rocks which tore its underneath to shreds. Adam still had a bit of fire dust coating his blade, and as soon as he pulled me back, I used the dust to cut through the creature, causing it to fade to ash.

Before I made it to the top of the train, Adam let go, Yang dropped down, hanging onto the roof, in order to catch me, there was a noticeable anger in her eyes, they turned red, but she didn't realize what was happening, due to her lesser human abilities. I threw wilt back up to Adam, he caught it re-sheathing the blade, getting in his stance, ready to use his semblance. Yang successfully grabbed me, attempting to swing back onto the roof, but I pulled her off of the roof and we landed on the cross platform in the back.

"What the hell is his-" She shouted with anger, as soon as the Taijitu leaped towards the train again, but this time it met its end with Adam's moonslice. I retracted gambol shroud, jumping back on the top of the train, to meet Adam. As always, he was a bit weakened after using his semblance, his weakness didn't last for long, but in combat it was a severe disadvantage.

"Are you...Are you alright?" He asked between breaths. "Yeah she is! No thanks to you." Yang walked up, anger still lingering in her eyes. "What were you thinking!? She could have been hurt!" I had to step in before Adam let his hatred of humans get the better of him.  
"Yang, thanks for your concern, but, he's my partner and I trust him with my life. He wouldn't have done something so reckless if he didn't think I'd make it." I explain, in the calmest tone I could manage.

The three of us went our separate ways, she returned to her cabin and Adam and I returned to the one we'd chosen. As I speculated, Adam quickly made a recovery, keeping me held close to him.

***

"I'm pretty sure that attack wasn't erratic. Kandola is here." Adam announced, quietly, keeping me held closely so that he did not need to raise his voice.

We kept quiet for most of the rise and we only had another 20 minutes to go. Adam snuck in a couple quick kisses, once on my lips and once on my forehead. Of course, that didn't go without drawing attention. "Once we get to the hotel, I'm going to make your night." He muttered in an arousing, low tone. I inhaled deeply, taking in that intoxicating smell once again, my embrace around him tightened as I fell for him once again.  
I assumed this trip was business only, but if Adam wanted to fool around, I wasn't going to stop him.

"Thats fucking disgusting." A voice called out from the crowd.

Instinctively I glanced out the window, we were so close to the docks, we only needed to avoid conflict for a bit longer.

Adam pushed me behind him, his tone growing angry. "Care to repeat yourself?" I quickly grabbed his arm, holding onto his sleeve. "Adam….." I protested, the onlookers starting intently at the scene. My heart jumped when Adam shook me off, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. The anger that resonated with Adam was familiar, I'd only been able to see him like this once that I can clearly remember, the night Ligero had attacked our camp. I believe I saw similar anger when he found me in Kandola's base.

Rage resonated through the car. The other passengers were afraid, some shaking, younger one's starting to tear up. Anyone could tell there was a lot of bad blood between these two. And most could see that blood was about to be spilled. Surely more grimm would be drawn to us, hopefully Yang still had some fight left in her.

"Adam..." I repeated, concern lingering within my voice.

The man walked closer, just antagonizing Adam. Without hesitation Adam unsheathed wilt and impaled the man before another word could be spoken. Everything was quiet as the man slumped to the ground. There was a local officer on the train, he started trying to push through the crowd towards Adam and I.

Adam wiped the blood off his sword using his pant leg before re-sheathing it, grabbing my hand and heading back through the vestibule and leaping from the train into the foliage. He landed perfectly, in a crouched position. I however didn't land as perfect. Not being able to properly judge my landing strategy, my boots splashed in a freshly formed puddle of mud, coating my boots. Again he was at my side, making sure I was alright.  
"We're not too far from the dock's, I doubt the train will reach the station before we reach the ships." He started walking ahead. Both of us put our masks back on, so our identity wouldn't be recognized at the shipyard.

I kept quiet for the moment, because we were in a rush, but what he'd did was stupid and reckless.

As he promised, we made it to the docks before the train had reached the station and upon approaching the ships, one of the captains recognizing our status as white fang members and he lead us to his ship, to a private cabin.

Everything was quiet, all that could be heard was the engine and a few people talking as they passed by our room.

This would probably be the only chance I had to confront Adam about what he did, how reckless he was.

"So, why'd you do it?" I simply asked, wanting the conversation to start with simple curiosity, rather than me berating him. He turned his attention away from the window, to focus on me. Raising an eyebrow he responded, "Do you have a problem with it?"

Instant aggression, great.

I didn't want to start an argument here, any arrangement's he made could easily be overlooked if we cause trouble. Shaking my head no, Adam rolled his eyes before returning his gaze outside.

What went on in his head? Could he really hate that man so much that he'd jeopardize our lives, just to get at him?

If so, was he really safe to be around?

***

Fourteen hours had passed since we began this journey and we hadn't spoken for at least twelve of it. And Just how was Adam able to stand unmoving for so long? Leaning against the window, arms crossed, so stiff. He hadn't even bothered to look when I shifted positions. Was he angry? Thinking about combat strategies? He didn't look mad, he wasn't showing any emotion. He was just...blank.  
I couldn't stand the silence of this room, I'd only brought one book with me and I'd already finished it. I craved interaction, specifically with him.

"Hey..." My voice didn't have much weight to it, I didn't want him to feel obligated to speak to me. 

Adam glanced over at me finally, he looked confused, almost as if he wasn't expecting me to be here. "Oh, it's you."

The ship landed, passengers started grabbing their things, ready to depart. Adam uncrossed his arms, grabbing his things as well. "Let's go, we'll talk later."

I allowed Adam to lead me through the back alleys of the street to a hotel we'd be staying in for the duration of our mission here in Atlas. We entered our room, it was small, but we wouldn't be doing much besides discussing strategies and sleeping anyway, so it was the perfect size, not to mention since we were faunus in Atlas, it's not like we'd be able to get a better room anywhere if we tried, even with my Belladonna legacy. Especially with my legacy.

Since we were alone now, it was time to bring up his actions again. Here we could argue, if need be, The room next to ours was vacant.

"About earlier, on the train..." I began, setting my bag on the bed. "What you did was reckless, you could have gotten us both hurt, or worse. And those children, they didn't need to see a man gutted before them..."

He sighed angrily, setting his bag and weapon down. "Those kids should have seen more than what I did to that man. They should know what the real world is like."

I don't know what happened, but a switch in me flipped, I grew angry. Without thinking about it, I shoved him away from me. "I am not going to partner with a cynical jackass! Let alone sleep with one. If you ever do anything like that again I-..."

He clenched his hand, I knew I overstepped my boundaries, you never question the leader. Adam backhanded me, knocking me back and pinning me against the bed. "You'll what? Preach to the crowd about how everyone should get along in peace? This isn't

preschool, you're a mercenary, a faunus, you know what this world is like, you've seen what they keep hidden. Do not question my motives!" A growl formed in his throat as he spoke, his teeth grinding together.

I was afraid, but as soon as Adam saw the fear in my eyes he backed up, his expression completely changing a tranquil expression took over his angered one. He gently placed his hand against my cheek, the coolness of the leather taking away the sting. Both of us were awkwardly quiet for awhile.

"Are you alright?" He asked after probably 40 minutes of silence. I only nodded, not sure on what I should or could say at that moment.

Standing, he picked Wilt and Blush, heading towards the door. "Wait!" I hollered, standing and reaching out,grabbing the sleeve of his coat. "Where are you going?" Returning his cool glove to my cheek, his lips pressed to mine. "I'll be back soon. I need to clear my head." He replied, exiting the room.

***

I must've dozed off for a bit, waking up just a dawn, a small beam of light peering through the curtain, positioned perfectly in my eyes.. I grumbled a bit, not feeling too rested. I couldn't help but glance over to the other side of the bed, sighing, seeing that it was still empty. I hoped Adam would have returned sometime during the night. He looked so torn up yesterday as he left, I needed to find him. Maybe he just rented a different room? That would make sense.

So, I got up, brushing my hair, not worrying about changing clothes since I'd fallen asleep in my combat gear. Besides, all I was doing was walking downstairs to the front desk, I'd be back in a couple minutes.  
Before heading out, I did decide to grab one of my extra ribbons, tying it around my cat ears, using it to blend it with the humans. I'd be able to get more information if I looked like I belonged.

Once I saw the halls in the daytime, it became apparent how run-down this place truly was.

There was dust and cobwebs everywhere, I began questioning my choice to actually sleep in that bed.

Approaching the counter, the owner of the building was an older man, his hair already getting grey. He smiled as I walked up.

"Hi, I checked in with my….." I thought about what to say for a sec, not exactly sure how to address Adam in this situation. "My boyfriend last night. We umm, got in an argument, could you tell me if he got another room here, or if you know where he went?"

"You're with the bull faunus from the White Fang, right?" I jumped a bit as the owner had recognized Adam's status. "Y-yes…" I admitted "Adam…"  
The owner shook his head. "I'm not sure where he went, but he left late last night not saying a word."

Perhaps, if I tried to get ahold of him with my scroll he'd answer.  
Anyway, right now, I had to deal with this owner, he knew who we were. "You're allowing the White Fang to stay here, knowing that their strictly against Atlas, and the all of the government officiated mercenary guilds?" I questioned, arms crossed.

"Any money is good here, Atlus, White Fang, human or faunus. Besides I owe a favor to miss Amitola." The owner explained, a bit of remorse in his voice. "You know Ilia?" I was interested more than concerned, Ilia hadn't been in Atlas in years Strange that she had connections here still.

The old man took a sip of his coffee. "Yes, I was one of the assigned huntsmen to train students in Alsius. I knew she was hiding and did nothing to confront her, though after the accident, I wish I had."

"Oh, well, thanks for your help." I replied starting to walk away, as the front door opened, a faunus girl about my age stood in the doorway.

She appeared to have sheep traits, short platinum blue, curly hair with droopy ears. A smirk appeared across her face as she caught my eyes. "Blake Belladonna?" The chime in her voice was unnerving. I knew she was not sent by Adam. This girl was bad news.

I didn't answer, keeping my eyes locked to hers. "Good. This is going to be easier than I thought!" She giggled, pulling out a dagger, equipped with the mechanisms of a pistol.

Instinctively, I reached for Gambol shroud, chastising myself once I realised that hadn't grabbed it. The girl leaped towards me, placing her hand on my shoulder, sending a wave of electricity through my body as she passed over.

I used my semblance to gain some distance between her, if I managed to get up to the room I was staying in, I could obtain my weapon. Than I was certain I could win.

As I turned, to face the girl again, I felt an energy burst hit the center of my back, causing my aura to shimmer, dropping me to my knees. That attack was powerful, not from this girl, she wasn't working alone. Another faunus-woman walked in the doorway, long red hair- and spotted ears, she had to be a doe. It suddenly clicked with me that this was Kandola.

The retired huntsman reached for a weapon he kept behind the counter. But, knowing Kandola was here, I couldn't let him help, he'd be in danger if he did. "Don't!" I hollered, causing him freeze. "There's too many of them, these two can't be the only one's in the area."

"How right you are, my dear, and if you don't want this place torched to the ground, I suggest not interfering." The red-haired girl threatened, her voice smoothe, dominating.

The only chance I had of surviving this encounter, was getting outside, into the open, so I could confused them with my semblance and possibly run into Adam on the way. I stood back up, dashing towards the door, ready to force my way through the doe, but, the sheep faunus was too fast, she flashed in front of me, the other woman, reading her bow behind her. The sheep aimed to hit me with a flip kick, but I narrowly avoided it, using the little aura I had left, just to get hit by another energy round, this time breaking through my aura.

There's no way I could fight now.

"Soooorry, my master says he has plans for you! And that means, you can't run away.~" There was a childish, musical chime to the sheep's voice. "Just go back to sleep awhile, kay?" She walked around my body, ready to knock me out, I moved just enough to look at the retired huntsman who was watching the scene with a look of horror on his face.

"Kandola! Tell Adam-" My pleade was ended with a boot to my skull, I lost every sense as my body shut down and I lost sight.

***  
"Poor little kitty, all tied up, and no bull to fondle her. We should teach him a lesson for leaving you in your time of desire."

I wasn't sure when I lost consciousness, or when I regained it, all I knew is that I couldn't see, and my hearing was muffled, a soft ringing echoing through.  
There was a pressure on my head, like a hand, once it moved I realized that my head was throbbing, my body jerked forward in response.

"You should be honored, Kitty, it's not every day I show up to tend to my guests."

That voice, the flamboyance seemed so familiar.

Finally my vision had cleared up, I slowly opened my eyes, coming to my senses, the resonating ring faded a bit more. My body is hunched over in a chair, most likely due to the jolt earlier.

Trying to stand up, I felt a strong resistance around my wrists, I'm tied to the chair.  
"W-what? Why?" I silently asked myself.

Black, heeled boots walked into my line of vision, I recognized them from my fight with Ligero. Suddenly I realized where I was, recalling the fight with a couple Kandola lackeys. My head snapping up to meet the man's cruel gaze.

"Ligero!" I hollered, in shock, wondering how long it had been, and if Adam knew I was gone.

"How sweet, you remember me." He half-scoffed. "Do I have a treat for you. I've noticed you and the big bad bull have become acquainted rather well, mating nearly constantly. So much in fact, that neither of you noticed you were being watched. " I flinched, hearing the last part, staring at him with every ounce of disbelief I could muster.

That mans smile was downright unsettling. "Now, kitty-cat, you're gonna answer some questions for me, since your beast isn't here to save you." Ligero pulled a chair up in front of me.

"As if I'm just going to tell you anything you want?" A growl escaped as I tugged against the ropes.

"Oh?" He leaned closer to me, too close for comfort. "I expect resistance. In fact, interrogation isn't fun, unless your victim squirms a bit before talking. And, kitty, I do know how you love to squirm."

"Shut up!" I shouted out in protest, hoping that not all of my intimate moments with Adam had been spied on by this freak.

He laughed at my reaction. "Why are you in Atlus? It doesn't seem like Adam is planning to visit the Schnee Headquarters and have a chat with Jacques?"

I had to think of something to tell Ligero, even if it was bullshit, if I spoke quickly enough, maybe he'd think there was a bit of truth to what I was saying. But, in order for him to even start believing me, I had to resist the first few questions, taking whatever punishment he wanted to give me. "Well, why else would we be here? Didn't you know that Jacques started inviting faunus to tea parties on fridays?" There was an obvious hint of sarcasm in my voice.

Ligero just stared at me for a moment before sighing, and back handing me. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it to come to this." He relaxed back in his chair. "Nami, why don't you show her a good time?"

The sheep faunus from earlier stepped forward, still unfathomably cheerful. She circled the chair I was in, before settling on the left side, grabbing my hand and stabbing a syringe of violet colored liquid in my veins. The pain was intense, a sudden flood of adrenaline rushed through my body, trying to fight away the pain.

I could feel my heart racing, my arm was burning, but it was numb at the same time. "What the fuck?" My body was screaming at me to run away, yet I had a feeling that even if they hadn't of tied me up, I wouldn't be able to get far with whatever they injected me with.

My hand involuntarily clenched, I could see my arm shaking. Gasps of breath left me in whimpers and there was nothing that could be done in my position to stop it.

"Kitty, speak up a little, I'm afraid I can't hear you all that well." Ligero Sneered.  
I managed to keep everything held inside, snarling through my teeth. "Adam is going to kill you."

There was not telling how long he was asking me questions, torturing me with random injections, one blue, one green and another orange. My whole body was being torn apart from the inside, the strangest thing was that I could feel my pulse, through every part of me, it was burning. My aura kept resonating, Ligero was getting frustrated in my resistance to his torture.

"Alright kitty, if you don't tell me what I want in the next ten minutes, then I'll be forced to take some drastic measures with you. " He warned as I sat, still trapped in this chair, breathing heavily, covered in sweat, filling fully energized but also drained at the same time.

Fear grew as Nami stood, walking away from me, I realized exactly what he intended to do with his "drastic measures". He was planning on taking me himself, to hurt both myself and Adam.

I shook my head, still refusing to tell him a thing. I repeated my warning from earlier. "Adam is going to kill you."

"Because I kidnapped you? Thought about doing some..questionable things with you?"

"No."

"Than I don't need to worry."

"I'll tell him that I enjoyed it. Every second! You won't have to worry about just facing the rage he'll have against you for hurting me, you'll have to face the jealousy and rage that comes with him seeing me flustered and hot, but not for him." I was hoping that since Ligero and Adam knew each other, maybe that would intimidate him. At least just enough so I could get out of here. Something had to work!

Ligero clenched his fist, delivering a blow to my left cheek, causing me grunt in pain. "You really want to try my patience? When I can do anything to-" Another cry echoed from the halls, this cry disturbed Ligero.

Both of us turned our attention to the open doorway, blood was slung across the wall as we glanced over. There was actually fear present in Ligero's eyes, growing deeper as we heard a slump in the hallway. "Blake!" The familiar and welcomed voice of Adam called out.  
I was ecstatic, he actually came for me. I was beginning to doubt he'd find me. "A-Adam!" I shouted back, hearing his footsteps getting louder.

A woman was thrown into the room, this was the deer-girl who helped kidnap me. She was bleeding, badly.

Adam walked up behind her, placing the blade of his sword to her throat, and when it came to Adam, he didn't hesitate in killing someone. "Momo!" The sheep squealed, upon seeing the state the woman was in. Tears were streaming down the girls face.

Without a second thought, Nami had used her flashstep again to knock Adam away from her friend, retrieving her before returning to Ligero's side. The girl was in obvious bad shape, it would be a miracle if she made it.

"Ligero we have to go!" She begged, her voice broken. Ligero had taken to staring menacingly at Adam, both men wanted to kill each other, but at the same time, both men knew that their mate needed them. Momo was on the brink of death, and Ligero could kill me. I believe Ligero figured out that he could kill me, the same time I did. He turned towards me, grabbing a dagger from his belt, ready to stab me when Nami shrieked out again. "We need to go now!" She screamed, grabbing his arm and vanishing with a bright flash of light.

Relief filled me with the sight of my lover, a smile washed over my face as I took him in. One of his gloves was coated in blood, probably that girls. "Blake…" Adam repeated my name with a softer tone, walking over to me and untying my restraints. As soon as I was free, I wrapped my arms around his waist, not wanting to leave his side again anytime soon.

***

We arrived back at our room and Adam hadn't said another word, he only sat at my side on the bed, keeping my hand grasped in his. He was torn up, anyone could see that. I wasn't able to tell how much he hurt until he took his mask off upon entering our room.

"Adam?" I called, hoping enough time had passed for him to calm down.

"Don't." He stated firmly, a growl in his throat.

An anger filled me as soon as he tried to silence me, if he didn't have an attitude problem, none of this would have happened in the first place, and I was getting ready to scream, to tell him that he needed to get over himself.

He stood, turning to walk away again, this time I stood with him, grabbing his jacket, forcing him to turn around, the rage building inside.

Adam looked down at me with so much hurt lingering in his eyes, he was blaming himself for everything already, I didn't need to remind him. Quickly my rage subsided and warped into a sorrow, tears just started streaming down my cheeks, I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist again, pressing myself into him.

"I was so scared." I admitted in a hushed voice. His arms moved around me, comforting and warm. "Blake….." He whispered with lament.  
The two of us stood together for the longest time, my body was still hot, but my pulse and headache seemed to calm down. I felt so at peace in Adam's embrace, like nothing in the world mattered, just he and I.

It was almost as if time had stopped, my crying ceased shortly, my grip around him tightening. His heartbeat in combination with his breathing was like music to me, this moment made me realize exactly how much I began to value his presence in my life. In a short time, he'd become the center of my world, and it was because of that, I didn't want to look up. Because if I did look up, I'd be lost in his gaze, those eyes questioning, longing to know what I was thinking, and I wasn't at liberty to answer, I didn't know the answer to the question I kept repeating in my mind.

' _Do I love him? Do I love Adam?"_

He didn't leave my thoughts, if he wasn't at my side, I wondered what he was doing, if he was thinking of me. My thoughts were frightening, I'd only spent half a year with him, and he quickly went from being a stranger, just some guy with a higher rank than my own, so high that I didn't even directly report to him and now I was utterly and completely infatuated with him. I couldn't imagine him not being in my life now.

I already could hear my parents, I was young, naive and foolish, I hadn't had a chance to recognize what love was, there was no way that I would love someone as chaotic and reckless as Adam.

Did he feel the same, I wonder?

"What.. did he do to you?" Hearing his voice through his chest drove my heart and mind made, the heat that was still coursing through my veins turned into a different warmth. A desire.

I pulled away, making the mistake of looking into those dark eyes of his. There was concern, and still a bit of regret. A smile stretched across my face. "He injected me with some strange liquid, I think it might have been dust?" I explained with the best of my knowledge.

"And you're smiling?" He questioned, with a raised brow, probably thinking that I had lost my mind.

My right hand cupped his cheek, before repositioning my fingers to his chin, bringing his lips to mine, before pulling away, my hand tracing circles on his jacket. "Take me?" I offered, catching Adam by surprise. "You need to recover." He tried to protest, but I could see a different opinion forming on that devilish grin I love. "But, you've got me desperate. Leaving me alone for a while night, wasn't very nice of you." I'd really gotten the hang of this whole fake it till you make it thing.

Without another word, Adam spun me around him, pressing me against the wall. His eyes, once filled with guilt were now replaced by a hunger.

Adam unbuttoned my pants, sliding the zipper down before grabbing my right leg, using his free hand to slip down into my pants, his fingers finding my insides quickly. "You're already wet?" He was surprised, normally he'd have to work with me a bit, before getting the kind of warmth that had already built up. "I need you." I mumbled, his thumb teasing my clit and his fingers squirmed inside me.

And there it was, his erection pressing against me. He dropped my leg, longing to get inside me. I caught the hand he used to finger me, bringing it back up to my mouth as I licked my own wetness off them one by one. "Belladonna, you are the best decision I ever made." Adam moved me again, this time to the end of the bed. "Take your clothes off now." He demanded, working on his own. "Yes, sir." I agreed, kicking my shoes off, sliding my pants down and kicking them over with my shoes, last to go were my panties, luckily for Adam, I'd been wearing stockings under my jeans, for an extra layer against the cold, but really, I discovered that Adam really liked when I wore stockings, so I started wearing them everywhere.

When Adam finished undressing, his hands were quickly over to me, untying my corset and throwing it to the side and pushing me to the bed, before entering me a bit rough, but it was a feeling I grew a liking too. He took my leg again, and I decided this was the perfect time to place innocent girl. "Oh, Adam! Careful, you're so big!" I called out, cutely nibbling on my nail. "You're such a good fuck." The devilish grin was still visible on his face. It was surprising how quickly the two of us had succumb, our fluids spilling out and our breathing increasing.

He pulled out, watching my back arch with my oragasms, biting his lip at the clumsy moan I let out. "That's a good Kitten...Display your need for affection." Adam bent down in front of me, spreading my legs as my body twitches uncontrollably. Soon his tongue found my insides, lapping up the wetness, moaning as he did.

I couldn't control myself, I was in complete bliss, being ravished by this man. My hand reached his horn, pushing him father into me. "Yeah! I need so much attention from you…" I cooed, wrapping my legs around him. His fingers entered me soon after. I swooned so easily for him, my juices spilled again, more orgasms shooting through my body. Adam grabbed part of the sheet to wipe his face off, he wasn't expecting my legs to lock on him.

"Sorry…" I was embarrassed, taking deep breaths, relaxing as he sat next to me on the bed. "Don't be, it's no different than when I cum on you." He chuckled, handing me a bottle of water. "Better than that time you got a leg cramp and as a response you kneed me in the crotch."  
"Sorry!" I repeated, even more embarrassed that he brought that up. "You showed no mercy." That smirk of his expanding, as he reached over to kiss me. "Mind if we do something a bit… different tonight?"

I glanced over at him in disbelief. "Adam your stamina is going to kill me." I joked, sitting next to him, kissing the nape of his neck. "What do you want to do?" A playful sigh escaped my lips, as looped my arm through his, pulling him close. "Tie you up and blindfold you." He responded bluntly. My heart jumped as I took in the possible outcomes that could happen, there was so much he could do if I had no influence, I was more excited then scared.  
"Sure, just don't do anything too weird."

Wit my okay, he quickly went to work, tying my hands behind my back and securing me to the headboard, so I couldn't struggle too much and blindfolding my eyes, so I couldn't see anything. I had only my hearing to rely on.

Adam got up, walking to another room. I heard him rummaging around for something, the sound was oddly familiar. "Adam?" I called out, wondering what in the world he was doing. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." He replied, setting something down on the nightstand. "Just getting a bit of an...enhancement."

"Enhancement?" I questioned, seconds later jumping in surprise as a cold liquid dripped on my stomach. "Adam, what the hell!" I protested, feeling the ice press against my clit, sending a thrilling sensation through my body. He teased me for the longest time, running the cubes over my body in various places, each having their own reactions.

"Last piece." He noted, out loud, lips pressing against my clit, his lips as cold as the ice, his licks and kisses only confirmed that he put the cube in his mouth, only to slip it inside of me seconds later when his tongue pressed inside me. That sensation was more than fulfilling, though the cube melted quickly, sending the water spilling out.

His hands traced my thighs, ready to mess around a bit longer. "Oh Blake you-" Adam's sentence was cut off with the beeping of his scroll, a rather angry sigh escaped his lips as he undid the restraints on my wrists. "Sorry, we'll have to continue this another time." He left the room.

Naturally I unbound myself, taking the blindfold up and then headed to the bathroom to clean up a bit. As I started to put on my night clothes, I caught a piece of the conversation through the bathroom wall. "This again? I told you to stop concerning yourself with the matter!" Adam growled in a low tone.

"You're 'proof' had best be more than a blurred image this time, Farrand!"  
"If she truly is in league with him, then I will eliminate her, do not bring this up again, least I cut out your tongue!"

Maybe the conversation was about me? I knew Farrand didn't like me much and it was obvious that Adam was hurt by whatever Farrand was suggesting.

I successfully got dressed and was walking out of the bathroom, using one a ribbon to tie my hair back. The look on his face was concerning, the glare he gave me as he entered the room confirmed my fears of that conversation being about me.

Smiling, I sat back on the bed, warmth still flooding my cheeks as Adam walked by. "Bad news?" He looked back at me with the same callous glare again. "Very." He also got dressed for bed, facing away from me the entire time, I didn't want to probe him for anymore information. A deep sigh filled the room. "Blake, I am going to ask you this once, if you answer honestly, you won't be punish." Adam sat on the opposite side of the bed, barely looking over his shoulder to me. "But, if I find out you are lying, I will not hesitate in making your life miserable."

Lifting my legs over the bed and moving to his side of the bed, I looked him directly in his eyes. "I will tell you anything, Adam."

He took another deep breath. "Are you a spy?"

I was shocked that he'd even suggest something like that, my father was one of the high leaders, why and how would I be a spy? "No, of course I'm not." I shot back, holding back my anger, trying not to slap him for even thinking of speaking to me like he had.

I think we both went to sleep angry.

 **To be continued….**


	5. Chapter 5: Beginning of a nightmare

**Chapter 5: Beginning of a nightmare.**

" _A single moment of misunderstanding is so poisonous, that it makes us forget hundreds of loveable moments we've spent together, within a minute."  
-Anonymous  
. _****

**I** couldn't sleep. I've been trying for hours, but the only thing I was accomplishing was tossing and turning. To my surprise, Adam was fast asleep next to me despite all of my movements. I could hear a light snore reassuring my accusations.

Restlessness spread through my body like wildfire, my mind wouldn't settle down, constantly wondering what Farrand had sent. I half wanted to wakeAdam up and force him to tell me every rumor that was spread about me, however I knew that would only cause more conflict. I also wanted to tell Adam the theories I'd been forming the last couple hours of Farrand being the one to betray him. Knowing Adam, that would only cause him to doubt me more.  
I mean, walking up to someone who thinks your a traitor and saying "I'm not the traitor, he's the traitor" sounds like something a traitor would do after all. I chuckled to myself at the thought.

Sighing, I rolled back onto my right side for what seemed like the thousandth time. I felt movement from the other side of the bed, Adam rolled over, throwing his arm around my waist. "Blake, whats wrong? Trouble resting?" The tone he called out with was a hushed, slurred tone, I could easily tell he was half asleep, yet still concerned about me.

"I'm fine." I replied, as all women do when they're obviously upset.

Adam pulled me closer to him. "I really like you, Blake." He muttered lowly, yawning, before rolling back over.

That was the first time Adam said anything remotely close to I love you, normally he just talked about how much he liked screwing me, which I had no problem with, it's not like we were together, he was my boss and we had a few romantic flings, nothing serious.  
At least that's what I'd like to convince myself, but, Adam asked me to move into his tent pretty much immediately.

I rolled back to my left side, placing my hand over Adam's and whispering softly to him, "I love you, so much, I wish you could see that…" I admitted aloud for the first time since realizing my feelings.

Thankfully I was finally feeling able to drift to sleep due to Adam's kind words.

***

Ugh. I almost wish I hadn't woken up.  
I didn't get nearly enough sleep, my head was foggy, throbbing in pain, my whole body was sore and weak.

The room was dimly lit, which was good, a bright light probably would have killed me at this point.

Regretfully, I sat up, stretching, feeling a searing pain in my left arm. As I looked over I took in dark blue and purple splotches that formed overnight from the needles.

Adam wasn't in bed.  
There was a faint pitter-patter of water pelting the shower wall, I assumed that's where Adam was, so I lazily dropped off the bed, shuffling over to the door. The water ceased falling when I approached, knocking on the door. "A-dam?" I called in a hoarse voice, just hearing the sound of myself speak made me feel weaker.

Adam's heavy steps approached the door, opening it, sending that bright overhead light I feared into my eyes, causing me to wince and glance away.  
"Blake? You look horrible." Concern lined his voice. "I feel even worse." I mouthed, leaning against the doorway for support.

Quickly, Adam swooped me into his arms, taking me back to the bed, examining my body, every injury that I'd obtained during my struggle. He seemed just as concerned as I was about the bruising. "Why haven't you healed these? You should have recovered enough Aura by now.." Confusion surrounded the both of us, my Aura had completely recovered, I had no excuse for why I wasn't able to stitch myself back together. I cleared my throat with a sigh. "I can't." It was strange to admit to my own faults in front of Adam, not only was he the leader that I didn't want to let down, but he also shared the role of a lover I didn't want to worry.  
"You can't?" He repeated the words back to me in a question.

He shook his head, reaching over to his scroll. "You're in no condition to be out of bed. You need to rest."  
"Do you want me to run you a bath? Maybe that will help with your muscles?" He offered, sitting next to me on the bed.

Though the pain I was in was horrid, I slowly formed an idea. Adam explained a rule of his to me, only a few days before we left Forever Fall. Whenever we went out in the field, it was mandatory that we leave our scrolls hidden and seperated in the hotel we'd be staying at, so that if one of us were compromised, the other could escape, grab the scroll and flee, or if we were also being followed, we'd destroy them, getting rid of any evidence our assailants could gain.

So, if Adam left, he'd most likely leave his scroll behind and I could probably get ahold of it and see exactly what ' _evidence'_ Farrand had been sending him, trying to prove that I was a spy of some sort.

I smiled, placing my hand on his knee, leaning against his shoulder. "That would be nice." I made sure to emphasize the patheticness in my voice. Adam kept next to me for a minute, leaning into me as well. He got up, his eyes not leaving mine, until he reached the end of the bed. I knew he was trying to read me, figure out if I had any motive. However, with the bruises that developed on my arm, he had more reason to believe me than not.

The bath he drew was rather warm, I could see the steam rising from the water. Being the gentleman he is, Adam made sure to help me carefully into the tub, a few minutes later, he brought me a cup of hot, green tea with added honey. Everything I did had to be careful, if I moved too little or too much he'd grow suspicious. So I found the medium, making cautious movements, relying on him a bit more than I normally would and finally, after a few minutes, I made my move.

"Adam." He was leaning against the counter with his eyes closed, I assumed he was probably still frustrated with our argument from last night. Adam didn't hesitate in turning his attention to me, looking down at me with his trademark callous stare. "I'm actually a bit hungry." I confessed, shyly looking down at the water. "Do you think you could go get me something to eat?"

Again, he examined me for any signs of treacherous signs. He didn't even bother to acknowledge my request, Adam just walked out of the room, typical.

I knew I couldn't get up immediately, he was probably waiting by the door, listening for any sound of my possibly betrayal. Ten minutes had passed before I decided to get out of the tub, still sore as hell, but I needed to find out what had Adam so convinced that I was against him.

Grabbing a towel, I dried off as best as my stiff muscles would allow me and I headed into the main room, taking note of his scroll sitting on the nightstand. Alright, so far everything was going according to plan, now I just had to check the peephole, to make sure Adam was standing outside of the door. He wasn't. I knew I probably wouldn't have too much time to figure out how to get to the files that I wanted. And I had to be careful about the way I went about it, the scroll was kept locked and any tampering with it would alert him that someone was snooping around.

The features my scroll had wasn't too different from his own, on-body detection, keeping all features unlocked as he carried the device with him, trusted locations, which the device would automatically unlock while he was in the area, and voice/fingerprint recognition. A feature my scroll had was to keep unlocked while Adam's scroll was nearby, every White Fang member's scroll was easily accessed by him, that's how he'd gotten the data I stole from Kandola's hideout in Mountain Glenn.

Anyway, I have to keep focused, I probably had around five to thirty minutes to unlock Adam's scroll and find the files, I was betting on the earliest return he could possibly make, thus I need to hurry. Obviously, I wasn't going to be able to use a trusted location to unlock it anytime soon. Fingerprint recognition was also out of play. 

There's only one way I can think of to unlock this scroll, it's a risky move, but right now that's all I had. So, I reached over, taking my phone and turning on the distress signal, my distress signal was instantly chimed on Adam's scroll, giving me the option to call my scroll, which I did, before quickly exiting out of the call, bringing me back to Adam's homescreen. Hopefully his phone wasn't connected to anyone else's.

It didn't take me long to find Adam's text logs, pulling up Farrand and his conversation, which happened to be blank. I knew a way around this though, my father taught me this many years ago when he lost some important documents in his Scroll. There was a program built inside practically every scroll that allowed you to pull up discarded files and messages as long as it had been less than a month since the files were deleted and their conversation was last night.  
Talk about taking candy from a baby.

The only person Adam seemed to be in contact with the last few days besides me was Farrand, which made the file easy to find, but it was unsettling to see exactly how much they'd been speaking. It probably wasn't all about me, and I wasn't about to try and go though every message to figure out what all of it was, my only goal was the photo.

Once the photo finished finished re-loading, I was finally able to examine this 'evidence'. It was taken it the corner of an outdoor bazaar, humans were in the photo, so it wasn't taken in Menagerie. My next best guest was somewhere in Mistral.  
The girl in the photo did share some features with me, such as black cat ears and black hair, but her hair was short, and my hair hasn't been short since I was a child. I totally needed to clear everything with Adam, however, since I kinda went through his scroll without his permission, I wasn't exactly sure how to bring it up.

"Seen enough?" Adam's loathful voice reverberated through the room, causing me to jump, dropping his scroll. I hadn't heard him return, exactly when did he get here?  
"Did I not warn you of what was to happen if you were to cross me?"

I shut my eyes tightly, taking a deep breath, to gather myself, before reopening them and turning around. "Adam, you are acting like a fool. Do you honestly believe that girl is me? We've known each other for half a year and you don't notice the differences in her and I?" I tried to keep my rage in check, but with Adam, you quickly learn that if you want to get anywhere with him, you need to show him that you can push back. "Please, tell me, do you think that she is me, that she even resembles me!"

Adam reached out grabbing my hand, the arm with the bruises. "Blake, rest." He demanded, ignoring all of my questions. He stared me down with such intimidation, cleary asserting himself as the alpha. "I want answers." I replied quieter, sitting down on the bed, crossing my arms. "If I thought you were a traitor, I would have already killed you. I prefer not to have forces standing against me, yet also lying in my bed." Adam sighed, handing me a close, still warm container. "Unless you now think I'm going to poison you." A light chuckled escaped his lips.

I put the box on the nightstand as I grabbed a robe from the coat rack nearby, slipping it on carefully, not wanting to overwork my muscles. The food Adam had gotten me was lemon pepper fish with some vegetables on the side, it wasn't my favorite seafood dish in the world, but it was probably the best for me at the moment.

The rest of the day was spent surprisingly relaxed. Adam didn't want me to move to much so that my wounds would heal, though I disapproved, I had to let him go out and investigate Snow by himself, while I recovered. The only bad part about staying in this quiet room alone, was how easy it was to fall asleep. Thought I tried to read a bit, I couldn't stop myself from dozing off.

***

"DID YOU LIE TO ME!? ANSWER ME!?"

Someone was shouting but I couldn't make it out, perhaps Adam had returned? Opening my eyes I was surprised to see that I was surrounded by mountains and trees, I had no clue as to where we are, or even why we're here.

I stood gazing at the scenery, wondering if I had somehow blacked out and kept about my daily life, maybe Ligero had something to do with it. As I turned, I saw Adam, he was covered in blood, I didn't know whose, but now wasn't the time to try and understand the situation, I felt an urgency to run, to leave him behind. I couldn't see any of his emotions, the mask hid his eyes. My only clue was his grinding teeth and raised voice.

Adam walked closer to me and I was too terrified to even move. "I TRUSTED YOU! " He shrieked, back handing me hard enough to knock me to the ground. My next instinct was to fight if I couldn't run, even though I didn't want to fight him. Gambol Shroud wasn't attached to my jacket, I didn't stand a chance against him without it.

A frightened gasp forced its way out as Adam knelt down, placing his hand under my chin, making me involuntarily look him in the eyes. "You do not seem to understand that I own you and everything that you do Blake. And each wrong move you make, it will not be without consequence, no matter how much it may pain me to hurt you."

"But, you won't have to worry about pain, you won't feel it for long. I control your destiny and you are destined never to leave this forest!" Adam growled standing up and unsheathing Wilt, aiming the blade towards my throat."

"ADAM!" I screamed in protest, seconds before shooting up in bed, taking rapid breaths as my heartbeat raced and a cold sweat dripped off my body. This was the room in that small Inn in Atlus, nothing had actually happened, we hadn't left.

The covers next to me shifted as he sat up, his hair was messy and he looked drozey. "Bad dream?" He questioned, in the familiar sloppy tone, I'd grown used to waking up next to.  
I nodded, catching my breath when I felt his arms wrap around my waist. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." He attempted to reassure me.

I didn't want to tell him that the thing he would be _'protecting'_ me from was himself.

 _ **To be continued….**_


	6. Chapter 6: Deception

_**Chapter Six: Deception**_

" _Sometimes we need to lose the small battles in order to win the war."  
-Unknown._ _ ****_

" **B** lake…" Adam moaned while I delivered feather-light kisses down his chest. I halted my movements, looking up at him. "Hmmmm?" He sighed longingly, "As much I want you to continue, we need to head out before sunrise." Adam sat up as he spoke, pulling his shirt on.  
"We'll just have to find this guy fast, so we can get back to our...more personal matters." My voice barely held on to the sultry tone I'd started using in bed, nervousness still able to get the better of me.

I knew Adam was turned on and trying to hide it. We were pretty busy, having learned that Snow would be leaving Atlus today, heading through the market slums, where the lower class citizens lived, namely the faunus who were unlucky enough to live in this ' _utopia_ '.

After getting ready we carefully made our way through the back allies, slipping between the shadows, reaching the deteriorating stands in the plaza before sunrise. The wood was rotten, the entire place reeked of mold, possibly due to the amount of snow and ice caked over them, allowing the water to seep in on warmer days.

There were a couple faunus, a coyote dressed in dark clothes, with a zweihandler on his back and a blonde squirrel with a tactical machine gun/grenade launcher combo standing near the entrance of a clearly run down building, a run down factory of some sort. I vaguely remember seeing these men in camp before.

The coyote cut me a sinister glare. "Who is she?" He was clearly the superior of the two.

Without hesitating, Adam wrapped his hand around my hip, pulling me close. "She's my girl, any problems with that?" There were no objections, just a sigh from the coyote. "Of course not, Adam. Just, I've never seen or heard of her before. Is she even up to the task?"  
Pushing Adam away from me,I replaced his hand with my own, staring the coyote down. "I can hold my own. Hopefully, you can promise the same?"

After a brief meeting I had learned that the smaller, shyer squirrel faunus' name is Alec and the big, bad coyote is Jett. Yue was also in the area. Apparently he had hand picked the three of them to take separate trips here, to deplete the risk of being intercepted by Ligero and his harem. Adam had never planned on going after Snow directly, instead we were going to ambush and interrogate his informate. The plan was to intimidate the information we wanted out of him, Once we got ahold of Snow, we'd force him to give us information about Ligero and his plan with Kandola and the experimental dust.

"Blake and I will be the main pursuers, Yue will follow behind, intercepting any backup this information broker may have. Alec, I want you to support her with that, if one of you can take whoever may come, the other needs to keep up with us, in case more arrive. Jett, you'll be traveling ahead of Blake and I, alerting us of any potential traps and if you see a chance to grab the informate, do so, but do not take the chance if you are not entirely sure you can take him down." Adam had explained the whole play calmly, no sign of doubt in his speech. He was confident that this mission is going to be a success. I've never been much of public speaker, can't say i'm not a bit jealous.

It was obvious by the look on Jett's face that he didn't agree with his role. He was furious, yet so far, biting his tongue. He probably wanted to be part of the main pursuers, while having me, the newest in the group taking his role. It would minimize the potential danger to me and give him a chance to show off in front of Adam, earning praise and possibly a future raise.  
Alec however, had no issue with the plan and gave a polite bow to Adam before jumping up the buildings, heading towards Yue's location. Jett seemed to be growing more and more irritated by the second, crossing his arms and glaring directly at Adam.  
'Do we even know where the informate is going to be, or are you just sending us on a futile, wild goose chase?" There was the hint of rebellion that he was oh-so cleverly hiding.  
"If there was any doubt of this mission being unsuccessful. I would have sent you and Alec alone, rather than aiding you myself or requesting assistance from my top combat specialists." Adam had gestured to me when referring to his best.

"I've been silently tailing our target since I arrived. Despite the information he holds, he keeps a rather strict schedule. He goes to a rather large bazaar in the slums and collects a sample of unstable dust used to create Kandola's experimental brand and transfers it to a small plaza on the eastern side of the 'high class' business district. I plan on capturing him before he makes it through the industrial district, it's just a hair away from the mid-way point and the noise in the area will provide a decent amount of cover." Adam had placed a lot of thought and confidence into this plan, he was certain that we'd finally be getting the vital information we'd been searching for. What was Kandola planning with their experiment and what benefits could it possibly have? My experience with it wasn't great, it was painful and very draining, not something I would consider an asset.

~~~~~~

Adam and I had located the informant, he was currently going by the name, Ochre Peruviana, we didn't know if that was his true name, but, his name wasn't important. What we needed to find out was 'Snow's' real identity. If he got word that we were so close to finding him, he could easily change identities and switch locations, stowing away on the nearest mode of transportation. We didn't want that.

Ochre was taking his time, chatting up the merchant he received his shipment from, probably to see if anyone was tailing him, sticking too close. However, Adam and I were simply posing as faunus tourists, browsing the shops at the bazaar, acting as if we were on a date. We kept our distance, going so far as to not even glance over at him, checking his position, we relied only on our ears, listening in to his conversation as we conversed about silly nothingness to ourselves.  
And boy, did this guy talk about everything, from the weather, the status of the grimm, the huntsman guild and about a girl he'd been crushing on. The latter part had been rather cringey, it seemed as if he was stalking her instead of having just a small crush.

"Well, you know what they say in Atlas? It's as cold as those who govern it."

This was a strange change in conversation, he'd cut in the middle of a sentence about the girl he'd been seeing before his voice fell silent. This was our que to move, it meant he was leaving. Adam tugged my arm, as we began walking away from the stand we pretended to browse, heading in the same direction as our target.

I took the container of energy dust out of my pocket, using a small shockwave from my aura to activate it, before dropping it to the ground, a bright light acting as camofolge, allowing us to leap atop the buildings, putting our masks on to conceal our identity from the public. However this would come at a cost, Ochre had noticed the commotion undoubtedly and was now in panic mode, however, he didn't have a choice but to meet up with Kandola in the plaza, if he tried to shake us off, he'd have to deal with Kandola's wrath and we hadn't planned in letting him get any farther than the industrial district.

We stayed within the shadows, so that he did not know exactly where or how many of us their were. Adam and I were in direct pursuit, Jett was hanging out a few blocks ahead of us, also making sure to keep out of view, it was a bit harder to track someone behind you, but Jett's movements were still precise, I was glad he took the lead.

It took quite the maneuvers to keep him from spotting us, jumping from building to building, until we finally reached the factories, landing in the roof just behind him. This building was abandoned, part of the roof had collapsed. Easy enough place to fight.

As Ochre went to leap towards the next level of the building, Jett jumped down behind him, knocking him through a window, shattering the glass before following him in. Adam looked over towards me, sighing and then headed inside himself, I was close on his heels. Jett had made a mistake in knocking him into the building, he now knew there was three of us, but three against one seemed pretty one-sided, no-doubt that Yue and Alec would be showing up soon, making it five against one.

We used a triangle formation to box him between us, keeping his movements limited. He didn't appear to be armed besides the experimental dust he was carrying, that alone had put me on edge, I remember the damage 0.5 mL of the liquid stuff did to me, and this guy was carrying an entire case. Surely, if he knew how to use it, we could all get killed.

"You can make this easy on yourself and just tell us where your boss is." Jett took the lead in speaking, this was standard protocol, when confronting an enemy, you never let them know which one of you are in charge, though Adam's mask gave it away, Jett was clearly bigger than him and speaking first, without protest from Adam, confused Ochre, he glanced between the two men, and then his gaze locked with mine, he wasn't sure what my role was, I took the head position in our strategy, making it appear as if I was the one in control.

In a standard huntsman triangle pursuit, the tip of the triangle was the leader, which was Adam, yet he took the left position which was meant for the unit trained in support, providing defense or medical aid, this person was often the scout of the group as well, having heightened senses to tell when danger was coming, that position was Jett's role on the team. However, he'd taken the right position, the role of the assassin, someone who could easily weave their way through groups in order to attack the main target. That, thanks to my semblance, was my role.

Ochre stayed quiet, his hand hovering over the container, ready to use it if need be. Jett resorted to a easy intimidation tactic, using his name.

"Ochre Peruviana, I will not ask a second time." The good thing about Jett's size, was being able to throw out a deep, overpowering voice. The sinister tone he used frightened me a little.

"I'm right here, boy." An unfamiliar voice rang out from behind, a shot rang out, causing Adam to leave his point, leaping over to Jett and Unsheathing his blade, blocking the bullet and absorbing the impact. Jett and I quickly moved reforming our defense, I leaped to Adam's previous spot and Jett leaped to mine, entrapping Ochre once again and providing backup for Adam.

A blonde haired male stepped out from around the corner, holding a sniper with a long blade attached to the top. He was dressed in pretty bright clothing, easy to blend in with the surroundings outside. The man appeared to be dragging something. "You should hire better support, Taurus." he commented, throwing the object he was dragging in front of us.

It was Yue and she was out cold, we all maintained our calmness, not wanting either of the men to know they got the edge over us. Yue let out quiet grunts of agony, moving only slightly, trying to wake herself up. She might be able to hear everything happening. "I'm sure you don't need weak pawn's around, right, Adam?" The assailant aimed the barrel of his gun towards Yue's unconscious body. He was going to force us to admit our worry for her.

Jett moved first, taking the wound in his arm, using himself as a shield, I decided to follow through with a direct attack, climbing up Jett's back, leaping off his shoulder, using a standard duplicate to dodge the bullet he fired towards me, landing back on the ground, this time using an ice duplicate to block his next bullet before leaping towards the wall, using the momentum to leap above and behind him, preparing a gravity charge, swinging a blade of gravity energy towards him. The assailant just vanished before my attack could even reach him.

Water dripped down from the ceiling next to me, the movement caught my attention, my eyes widened realizing the water was a deep red and not water at all. The searing pain hit me only seconds later, my entire back was on fire and I could feel the cold air and dampness traveling down my spine. I felt the need to drop to my knees or hundle over in pain, but I couldn't let this injury stop me, I didn't want to fall short, Adam picked me for this mission and I couldn't let him down. Looking up from the droplets on the ground, Adam was looking right at me, his hand reaching out as if he tried warning me. But I hadn't heard anything, maybe he was just in shock and hadn't been able to call out? That didn't seem like Adam….

A hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me back, I looked up, ready to attack again if need be, thankfully, it was only Jett. "Are you seriously that senseless!? He told you, he told you exactly what he was going to do and you still went after him!?" It seemed Jett didn't lack empathy, he was concerned about my wound, but furious that I followed through with my attack. "What are you talking about? No one said a thing!" I protested.

The man stood smiling, just inches away from where I stood before Jett had grabbed me.  
"Adam, I'm going to disable your left shoulder and you are going to let me." Adam lowered his hand to the hilt of his sword, ready to defend himself. A seething rage built up, his body language doing nothing to hide it, which was strange. From what I'd learned by watching Adam, he believed in not showing your emotion to your enemy, yet he was about to blindly attack this man because I was hurt? Nothing about this situation seemed right, I had to find some way to stop him.

Adam charged directly charged him, not bothering to attempt throwing this guy off his trail, he was going to get hurt. I pulled away from Jett, using a duplicate, to keep him from re-grabbing me. I raced towards Adam, hoping to intercept him before he gets hurt, but Adam was a lot faster than me and he had already begun clashing his blade with the sniper's.  
"Adam! Snap out of it!" I called hoping to draw his attention, but he was too blinded be his rage.  
I caught his arm, feeling my grip he turned towards me, swinging his blade toward me, stopping just before he hit my neck. "Blake?" He murmured in a confused tone. "You're alright?"

A smile stretched across my face. "Yeah, of course I'm alright…." I sighed.

"I thought you were…" Adam wasn't able to finish his thought before the assailant appeared behind him, grabbing his hand and slam his open palm to Adam's back as forcefully as he could manage. Adam released a pained groan, turning to face his attacker, Jett moved in front, in a defensive form, ready to attack us if need be. A thought suddenly crossed my mind, Yue was nowhere to be seen? But, she was injured, harshly, there were cuts and scrapes all over her body, there's no way she could move so well with the injuries she held. "Is Yue alright?" I cautiously whispered, making sure that no one but the two of us could hear.

Adam's fist clenched. "I'd presume not, since she is not hear and I haven't heard from her. Check the scroll, I'll keep you covered."

I did as he commanded, fishing my scroll from my pouch, unlocking it and opening our sensory data, our team name was AUBRN, Adam took the lead spot, Yue the second, providing long ranged attacks, I was third being the elusive striker, keeping to the shadows, catching foes off guard, Alec was forth, providing support, either medical or close-up blows and finally Jett took on the role as the taction, though he was an all-rounder.

The data I received was grim, Yue's Aura monitor was three-quarters emptied and Alec's was emptied, a critical warning being displayed across his profile. "They're both hurt, Yue's aura is nearly depleted and Alec's in empty." Jett's ear twitched in my direction at the mention of Alec's name. Jett got angry, reaching for his weapon, Falke, A halberd with shotgun capabilities, It took a large amount of dust for each shot, giving it quite the punch. Jett charged his weapon, readying a similar dust-charged attack as my previous one. He launched it at the white haired man, but he made no effort to avoid it, he used his aura and the blade of his sniper to deflect the blow, throwing it up to the rafters above us.

We all moved to avoid the clashing wood and metal, spreading across the floor in a tangled mess. Jett had taken quite the hit, having not dodged quickly enough, blood was trailing down the side of his face as he stood up, returning Falke to it's holster, I had used a lot of my aura to block the beams from hitting me and Adam had used the energy he absorbed from the impact to strike most of the debris away.

Jett was the first on the roof, follow Ochre and his guard, still ready to face them. Adam and I quickly followed, attempting to keep those two from fleeing our pursuit. Once we reached the roof, Yue and Jett were standing face-to-face with the two men ready to fight to the death if need be. As I suspected, Yue did have some injuries, but I was happy just to see her standing. Alec was nowhere to be seen, my worry for him increased.

"Snow's semblance is illusions, only one of us our susceptible at a time, but he is a very good strategist." Yue informed Jett as the pair stared them down.

"Honestly, I don't have time to mess with a vagabond group. You've kept me far too long." He replied in a callous voice, changing the cartridge in his weapon. "I'll give you guys a burial, just like your friend." That comment alone was enough to anger Yue and Jett, the two of them charged recklessly once again, Ochre took out a vial of the experimental dust, readying himself to defend against the four of us. The two of them together were too strong for us, one of them needed to be eliminated. It would be hard but I was sure that striking Ochre wouldn't be too difficult.

Snow, signaled for Ochre to back off, raising his sniper as if it were a sword, Adam raced passed me, his sword clashing with the sniper, Yue supported Adam's decision with a charged shot from her weapon, while Jett stayed back, waiting to unleash an ultimate attack. I am easily the weakest among the four of us, and I felt a strong desire to prove my worth, Jett already questioned why I was on this team.

Yue was fended off by Ochre, seeing the needle in his hand she backed up, Adam seemed to easily be keeping up with Snow in their dual and Jett was heavily concentrated. I had to figure out how exactly to get close, so I charged Ochre, Snow stepped away from Adam for a moment to shoot a fire-charge round, cutting me off with a wall of flames, that same moment, Ochre had gotten the advantage on Yue and plunged the syringe into her neck, causing her to collapse, Jett moved to release his enhanced dust attack, combining it with his semblance, aiming for Snow, collapsing part of the building, but missing Snow.  
Snow followed up by bashing the blunt end of his rifle into Jett's face, catching him by his collar before he fell and throwing him off the building. At this time, Adam seem to absorb enough blows to fully unleash his semblance, it was dangerous, but this is the only chance I have.

I knew directing my attack to Snow was out of the question, so I maintained my focus on Ochre. It happened quickly, Adam unleashed his power, I vaulted over the shockwave, making my way to Ochre. A blue light intercepted Adam's attack and Snow managed to escape, jumping back and vanishing in the bright light. Ochre was thankfully distracted by the commotion and I was able to unsheathe my Katana, impaling him through his torso, my blade piercing out of his back. He wasn't getting up.

After pulling my blade from Ochre's chest, I turned my attention towards Adam who was now locking swords with a woman, with long white hair and the Schnee logo on her back. Her eyes darted to me, seeing Ochre's corpse.

"Since when did the White Fang start murdering people?" She interrogated, knocking Adam back enough to leap away. "That's none of your business, princess." Adam growled sheathing his sword. I made my way over to Yue, checking her pulse, with how I reacted to this stuff, I knew she must be having a rough time. However, I was intercepted, a man with feature strikingly similar to Adam's jumped between Yue and I.

"Do you faunus cause nothing but trouble? Your kind deserves to be locked away." This man's distaste for my kind was apparent. "You already did that, it's an island, called Menagerie, maybe you've heard of it." Adam replied, his hand back on his hilt, disregarding the woman's presence.  
"Well, maybe you should all be killed, instead." The red-haired man retorted, bringing out his weapon. The woman furrowed her brow. "Ophion Locke, you will take back your words!" She demanded, but neither man had any intent on listening.  
Adam drew his blade once again, pointing it at the other man. "I know who you are, and I will have your head!"

The two men move to fight, I managed to run to Adam, knocking him back as the huntress collided with her aid. "If we don't leave, Yue and Jett are going to die!" I pleaded with Adam and with the sigh he let out, I knew he agreed. He leaped down to check on Jett while I tended to Yue. After the huntress got done scolding her aid, he threw his arms in the air and left without another word, the huntress seemed to linger, her hand clutching the sleeve on her dress as she watched me, walking over after she realized that I wasn't planning on attacking her.

"Hey…." She called out, kneeling next to me, holding her hand out, a small med kit in her palm. "I know you guys don't like taking government help and I don't know how far you have to travel, but this might help your friends...At least, it's better than nothing."

I took the med kit, standing as Yue came to her senses, sitting up herself. "Thanks. It might do us some good." The huntress smiled. "I know my family doesn't exactly have a good reputation with your kind, but, I want you to know that I am nothing like my father. I'm striving to improve our relations." She sighed after her speech, she seemed a bit nervous. "But, you need to leave, before the military gets here. I managed to stall Ophion by threatening his job, but he's probably called reenforments by now." I nodded in response, helping Yue up, before jumping down to Adam, he barely had Jett responsive.

~~~~~~

As we made it out of the city, Adam called Sienna, requesting assistance from her unit stationed in just on the border of the continent, it took hours but we finally reached a place where we could rest, Sienna's camp was well guarded. Everyone was in stable condition, Jett would most likely stay in his comatose state for a few days, but Sienna reassured us he'd wake up soon and Yue would definitely be out of commission for a bit. We weren't able to locate Alec and he's been issued as M.I.A. Once Atlas calls off it's search for the White Fang, we'll be able to search for him ourselves.

Sadly, Sienna went full 'mom mode' on Adam and she probably lectured him about his 'mindless, imprudent strategies' for a good few hours, leaving him drained and severely irritated when we were finally able to return to our temporary tent. He'd fallen asleep almost immediately, his head laying in my lap. I was humming softly to him, speaking quietly.

My thoughts had been haunted for the last few hours, it seemed all I did was hold Adam back, I did manage to kill Ochre, but we needed him alive for questioning, and if I had been able to actually fight against Snow, maybe we could have saved Alec and saved ourselves from the injuries we obtained. I couldn't help but chastise myself, and wonder why Adam even loved me….

So, in the midst of my mummering to him, I asked.

"Do you really love me?"

At first he didn't answer, he was asleep, I wasn't expecting him to, but I could have sworn that I heard him mutter a 'No' in reply. I quickly dismissed it as my imagination…..

 _ **To be continued…..**_


	7. Chapter 7: Attachment

_**Chapter Seven: Attachment..**_

" _It is said, that the root of all pain and suffering is attachment."  
-Budda_

 **H** ow quickly a year can pass when your with someone you cherish, however, I still hadn't figured out if the relationship between Adam and I, that I'm so dearly drawn to was unrequited or not. That evening, outside of Atlas, he'd fallen asleep in my lap and he'd been sleep talking, just simple words, we weren't able to hold much of a conversation, but, during the night, I asked if he loved me, to which he simply replied "No", like it wasn't a big deal. It's completely possible that he just didn't hear me and his answer had nothing to do with how he actually felt. More than likely I was just jumping to conclusions, I shouldn't be questioning his affection towards me, I know by his actions that he loves me. Which is why I hadn't repeated the question while he was awake. I didn't want to upset him, I also don't want to know the truth. Even if his affection is false, I want nothing more than to enjoy it for a bit longer.

Adam needed me, regardless. Kandola needs to be stopped and we are the only ones who have taken notice. Though our pursuit in Atlas was left in vain, we still had done a considerable amount of damage to their plans. Ligero and the rest of his group had just vanished off the map, we no longer had any trace of him, Snow or any of the lackys. Adam had come up with a bizarre conspiracy theory that they were operating underground, using double agents in the White Fang to do so without being caught. Sure, it wasn't impossible, but I still severely doubted it. At least from the members in Adam's unit, we all knew what Kandola is capable of, we all witnessed it.

~~~~

Currently, my life wasn't bad at all, the last week Adam and I were taking a small break just outside of a village between the Vaccuo and Vale territories, not exactly what I would call a vacation, but it's been peaceful and we've been able to get some alone time. The weather wasn't bad, it had been sunny most of the week, but the last couple days, clouds had started moving in, and the later it grew today, the darker and more accumulated the clouds became. A storm was possibly moving in.  
It wasn't too hot either, the perfect temperature, I even left the arcadia doors open to our bedroom, so the breeze could flow through, while laying on the bed, enjoying my newest book, 'Calystegia's Library'.

I heard the familiar sound of Adam's boots clacking against the wooden floor as he flopped onto the opposite side of the bed, grabbing the book from my hands and turning it around so he could read.

"He quivered, being tormented by desire, growing desperate with each passing second. Calystegia was lost in thought, perhaps if she deprived him now, he'd beg for her attention, oh how she would love that satisfaction. Yet, Silas wasn't about to let his sweet flower take control, quickly he acted, flipping her to her back, pinning her shoulders to the bed, before driving his tongue deeply, to which erected the most raw, intense and absolutely delicious noises of pleasure from his lover." Adam stopped reading, and handed the book back, careful not to lose track of the page I was on. "Yeah, sounds like something I'd do."  
I closed the book, setting it off to the side, before standing and leaning over Adam, "As if you don't like to be teased." I replied with a snarky tone."

This was one of the rare occasions he actually didn't have his mask on. I still hadn't figured out exactly why he insisted on wearing it practically every second of the day. There was a small scar under his left eye, I figured that was part of the reason. This was another concern of mine that I haven't addressed, not wanting to bring up any bad memories. I only wished that he knew how beautiful he was, his eyes were so captivating, such a deep green, like the shadows of a forest.  
Our gazes were locked, he knew I was staring into his eyes, normally, he'd get frustrated and leave the room, but so far he hadn't moved a muscle. Adam's hand reached up towards me, caressing my cheek, before bringing my face down to his for a kiss. He must've been in a romantic mood. "The townspeople say the storm passing through tonight, is going to be rough. They're already preparing." He relayed the information to me. "We're high enough from the shore, that flooding won't be a problem for us. However, there may be an uprising in grimm. Tourist season can be hectic around here, people aren't used to some of the storms Mistral gets and traveling newbie hunters will mistakenly take the first line of defense against possible grimm, thus attracting more if their fear gets to them."

Adam sat up, turning towards me. "We should train before the storm gets to bad, so you know how to handle Mistral terrain. .. I don't want a repeat of Atlas, you could have been killed." He reminded me of when that huntsman grabbed me, using me as a shield so that Adam couldn't attack him. Adam was in such a bloodlusting rage that he had nearly killed me himself, luckily he managed to regain control realizing that I was in front of that man. I nodded giving my agreement and we started heading out, after getting our gear ready.

My training had been intense the last couple weeks, the very reason I was not considering this a vacation. He taught me techniques to break through grimm armor and even aura, though I haven't managed to get his aura to even sway. Another tactic he taught me was to force my opponent to show their semblance, so I could easily asset it and work around it to defeat them. Yet, another feat that I failed to accomplish against Adam.

~~~~~

We stood around thirty feet from each other in the garden, both in our combat stances, ready to strike. I had yet to figure out how to strike Adam, his semblance was tricky, he used impacts to charge and once charged, he released a devastating blow. This attacking him and blocking him was out of the question, he only became stronger. The only chance I had was dodging, and waiting for a one shot opening, but he was quick, making it hard to just dodge, I had a few new scars to remind me that tactic didn't work. I needed to catch him off guard in order to deliver my strike.

A smirk played across his lips, adding to my irritation. But, I kept calm, realizing this was both an intimidation tactic and used to make me blindly attack him out of frustration. He also used this technique to force someone into blocking, thus strengthening him. However, when Adam unsheathed his blade, moving to strike with a horizontal blow, instead of catching his blade with my own, as my reaction would normally be, I allowed my semblance to activate, taking the blow for me as I ducked under, he followed through with a overhand, diagonal swing, I quickly pirouetted to the side, adding a backflip, mid-spin to avoid Adam's strike to my feet. As I landed I had to immediately kneel, my right leg swept behind me to barely dodge another horizontal strike, followed by a series of mid-sweeps, which I could only keep stepping backwards to avoid.

It truly was not a chore for him to get the advantage over me.

He was hard to keep up with, somehow, he knew ways to just wear you down as you were trying to figure out a way around his defenses. I thought that I had seen an opening behind him, but his reaction time is impossibly quick, he through Wilt over his shoulder, causing me to clash with him, twice. I was distracted by the fact my katana had connected to his sheath, that I hadn't seen Adam turn, swinging his blade, it was either block it with my cleaver or take the hit.

Slowly I started forming a plan, in order to win fights against stronger opponents, I needed to start fighting dirty and the only way I could think of catching Adam off guard would be if I got hurt. So, I waited for him to take another swing, catching his blade with my hand rather than my weapon, allowing my blood to spill. His eyes widened, his concern for me would hopefully be his downfall. "Blake, are y-" I took this second to use my semblance, jumping over his shoulder, spinning, aiming my blade to just barely graze him, this was training after all. Adam turned, grabbing my hand, pulling me close to him before planting his lips to mine, his blade placed at my side, allowing me to feel the cold of his steel, seeing how easily I would have lost if I was not fighting against him. "So close." A smile played across his lips. "Yet so far…"

Understandably, I was a bit bitter about my loss, I hadn't planned for Adam to catch on so quickly, and I should have. He told me that if I planned on winning, I should have stuck him as I was leaping over him, that he wouldn't have expected. So he took me inside, bandaging my wound, he kept rather quiet not looking me. Concern was building up, why was he so worried?

"Blake..." He whispered my name quietly before looking up, meeting my gaze. "Are you afraid of me?"

Was I afraid of him? Well, in a sense, yes, I think he could tell by my silence that this was the case. He was a very formidable opponent and his mood swings were pretty intimidating at times. "That's fine. I guess I can be a bit... Intimidating." Adam replied on que, as if he'd read my mind.

I let out a sigh, swinging my leg over his lap and tightly hugging him, hoping to calm his nerves a little. He returned my embrace, it was quite comforting. I realized at that moment that ever since he'd read that portion of my book, I'd been yearning for him. My lips brushed against his ear before whispering, "Intimidation can be a good thing…" I used the best sultry tone I could manage, hoping to turn him on. "Oh?" He pushed me back, standing with me, locking our gaze as he looked down into my eyes. "Well, miss Belladonna, If you want to convince me, you'll have to get on your knees."

The mission was successful, my bull is horny. I did as he asked and slowly descended to my knees. Adam fumbled with his belt, struggling to get it undone in his current state. An amused chuckle escaped my lips as I easily unhinged his buckle, working my way to my prize. "You want me to suck this right? Cause it feels good in my mouth?" Adam loved when I asked simple, silly questions like that, it fueled his superiority complex. He'd taken his member into his hand, stroking it, putting a finger to my lips, I watched him in wonder, like I'd never seen anything quite like it.

Our relationship over the past weeks had evolved from having casual sex to playing a more dominant and submissive role. Adam was my alpha and I was his submissive, and I didn't mind one bit. He was always careful to not cross any boundaries I might have.

"Open..." He commanded, and I obeyed slowly, dropping the finger from my mouth, opening it a little, sticking my tongue out as it wided. I had to receive my gift graciously, least I face any consequences. "Good girl, take it deep for me?" He requested, as if he planned on giving me any choice. Adam placed his hand on the back of my head, easing himself in.

I was ordered to keep my hands behind my back as he pleased himself with my mouth, he threatened to tie me up if I didn't do as told, part of me wanted to disobey, wondering what kind of punishment he had in mind, but I remained a good girl and did as he asked.  
His first load came quickly, sending warm strings of his love down my throat. "Drink up." Adam removed his member. Swallowing his seed had become second nature for me, at first it was difficult, the taste always threw me off and my nervousness didn't help. Now, it was easy for me and I had grown to like the salty taste.

A malicious smile played across Adam's lips, "Stand a show me that you should get desert." I think it goes without saying that my 'desert' was the favor returned, which he often did regardless. Adam's hand caressed the side of my face before his lips locked with mine, our tongues colliding. "Good, nice and clean."

His hands slipped under my jacket and shirt, unclasping my bra, easily removing everything before reaching down to work on my pants. Adam pushed me to the bed, climbing over me and slipping his hand down my pants, feeling my clit and the shiver that went with it, followed by the yearning whine I let escape. "And what would this kitty like her master to do for her? Maybe I could kiss all your sensitive spots?" He placed his lips to a nipple, sucking on it, while, removing is hand to unbuckle my boots. "Blake, while I was in town earlier, I picked up something for you." I was curious, since he was bringing it up in the middle of foreplay, I assumed it was something sexual. "Well, it's more for both of us." He added, reaching for one of the nightstand drawers and pulling out a box, handing it to me. I quickly opened it, wanting to know what he'd gotten for us now. It was a lacey, black and lavender choker, with two violet stones on either side and in the center was a bow, a small silver bell hanging from it, wit my name engraved on it, a heart replacing the 'A' in my name.

"Do you like it?" He replied, taking the collar and fashioning it around my neck. Of course I did, but I had decided on teasing him a bit, maybe getting a punishment by disagreeing. "Well-" My sentence was cut off by the roar of an Ursa.

Adam had leaped up from the bed, instantly grabbing the pants he'd only kicked off minutes ago. "Sweetheart, I can fend them off, but you may want to get dressed in case there is a horde. You know how the citizens of Vaccuo can get when storms get too harsh." He commanded, grabbing his sword and heading out on the balcony, it was easier to jump down rather than walk through the house.

The rain had just barely started to fall, there's no way Vaccuo civilians could have attracted grimm with their panic already, there had to be another cause. I easily threw on my clothes again, making sure everything was tightly buckled before grabbing Gambol shroud, heading for the balcony as well. I hadn't heard much commotion, but Adam was surrounded by the monsters, effortlessly taking them out without a complaint. I leaped down joining him, also effortlessly taking the grimm out. Some of the grimm already had wounds, their armor broken and scarred. "Adam!" I called out, my katana impaled in a beowulf's skull. "Don't you think this is too easy?" He took out a few more grimm before responding. "I was thinking the same thing, keep your guard up, this isn't just a random attack, this was planned."

We kept fighting, no signs of anyone else close by, just large amounts of different species of grimm. Stronger grimm had been attracted by the fighting and now we did have to put a bit of effort into our battle and we were getting worn down, slowly growing tired. Two people against hundreds of grimm never really lasted long.

It was only a matter of time before I made a mistake, allowing an armored Ursa to collide with my blade, taking a 30ft plunge down the hill, a man stood before me as I made it to my feet. "Well, look at what the cat dragged in."

"Ligero…" I muttered under my breath, readying my weapon.

He smiled, shaking his finger. "Now, now dear, you and your friends couldn't take my underling, what make you think that you can fight me, by yourself?" A laughed came from him, as he unsheathed a chain sword, lined with dust. It's safe to assume this is his altered dust.  
"Do you believe in yourself? Better yet, do you think Adam can handle himself against my top fighters? It's too bad you're all the way down here."

With the knowledge I possessed about his semblance and Adam's lesson, I quickly put together that this form in front of me was most-likely just his fucked up necromantic semblance. All I needed to do was inflict enough damage or wait for a quick decapitation opportunity. I started with a quick collision with his blade, pushing his attack back, slipping behind him, before turning and colliding with his blade once again. I shoved Ligero away, hoping to use an underhand swing to catch him off guard, Ligero wasn't the type for such easy tactics, he easily caught my blade with his. He swept his blade under my feet and thanks to my semblance, I leaped over his attack, transforming my katana into its sickle form, throwing it behind in and pulling it back, leaving a gash over his spine, a nice payback for the wound I was still mending from Snow.

Ligero, grabbed my hand, forcing my sickle to the ground, his blade keeping my weapon pinned down. So I delivered a roundhouse-kick to the side of his skull, reclaiming my sword. I combined my katana and cleaver together, this time slashing downwards with all the force I could manage, barely missing him as he stepped to the side, I followed through by swiping right with a dust charged attack, my blade missing him, but the shockwave from the energy making contact with his chest. I continued the assault, using a multitude of dust charged attacks, knocking his blade back with each blow, hoping to get a lucky shot.

He leaped back, landing on a stone pillar, that I easily destroyed with a gravity attack, Ligero jumped off, landing behind me, I turned to face him as he charged me, jumping into the air, hoping to catch me off guard with an aerial attack. Once again thanks to my semblance I was able to dodge the attack, catching his weapon with my own, using the force of his attack against him, shoving him back. Ligero charged me again and our weapons collided in a fury of assaults.

During our battle, we wondered pretty far from the area where I had fallen. I wasn't exactly sure on how to get back, but I needed to worry about that when I wasn't about to lose my head. It seemed that Ligero wasn't going to let up on his assault anytime soon. Knocking him off balance, I took my chance to jab my blade into his throat, but he moved at the last second, fueling my rage.

"JUST DIE!" I hollered out in frustration.

He stood, a smirk playing on his face. "You kill one lowley pawn, and now you've got a big head, huh?" Ligero commented on when I had struck Ochre down. "Adam didn't seem to happy about that, he was worth so much more to you alive, wasn't he? I heard your conversation, wasn't Adam just a bit upset with his little kitty?"

It was true, Adam had gotten upset with me about Ochre's death, during our walk to Sienna's camp. He had called my actions reckless, which I admit that they were, but I had only acted so suddenly in order to keep anyone else from getting hurt. That's also why I wasn't too bothered when Sienna had delivered the same speech to Adam that he'd given me.

"Well, he'd be glad if I got rid of you!" I remarked, readying myself to attack once again. He didn't speak again and instead decided to let his sword talk, clashing into mine again and again.  
I needed to find an opening worthy of striking a final blow.

Finally I found my shot, he held his sword, taking an upper strike, I ducked under his blade, swinging mine behind me, laying it on my back when he decided to switch directions, I pulled my katana free from the cleaver, swiping it across his stomach, creating a gash.

"You bitch!" He hollered, backing away from me. Now all that was left was for the finishing blow, severing his connection. I lifted my blade, combining them again, this was the first time I've ever decapitated someone, so I wasn't sure exactly how much force to use, in order to cut through his remaining aura.

As I swung, I felt someone grab my hand, taking my weapon and returning to its sheath. "What do you think you're doing? Killing someone with valuable information again?" He turned me around pinning me to a pillar. It was Adam?

"You know as well as I do that it's just a body, he won't tell us anything!" I pleaded, wondering what had come over him.

"That is why I keep proposing an alliance between us, Adam." Ligero chimed in. "This girl would rather go against your orders and slaughter us, rather than following simple orders."  
Adam was quiet for a moment. "You…..are correct.." He agreed to my dismay. "Are you fucking serious, Adam!?" I screamed, struggling to get out of his grip. " He doesn't care about anyone but himself! He wants to hurt people!" I needed to find some way to knock some sense into him.  
"But, haven't you been doing the same thing? You never perform difficult tasks for the White Fang before you met me, before you / _wanted/_ me. And now you're killing in order to please me?" I couldn't believe that Adam would say such a thing.

I thought for a moment, everything that he'd said sunk deep into me, angering me. "If you even think about joining this freak, I will make sure that your followers are stripped away from you. The highleaders will not stand for this!" I pretty much blurted everything out without thinking.

"Don't you worry, darling, I don't plan on letting them live." Adam replied, a cocky grin on his face. A gasp escaped, I quit struggling, just staring at Adam in disbelief. "Did you think that by dating you, I didn't have any ulterior motives? Dating Ghira's daughter can get one man so far in the White Fang, Sienna did help get me to you, but I no longer have use for any of you." He kept my hands gripped tightly, pulling me with him to a cliff overlooking the ocean. "A-Adam…." I whined, piecing together what he planned to do. "Adam, you don't have to do this… I can help you...I can get you to Kuo Kuanna…" I was saying anything I could think of to plead for my life.

Ligero walked over to us, that same wicked grin lining his face. "Poor little Absinthe, just like her, your love ends in tragedy."

The next thing I knew, I was plunged into the water, by the man I loved. My heart ached, I didn't even want to struggle against the crashing waves, but I needed to survive, to warn my family and Sienna. There was only so much my weakened body could do against the waves and I easily lost consciousness.

 **To be continued…..**


	8. Chapter 8: New Friends

**DISCLAIMER:  
If you read this series before Feburary 15th, 2018 I HIGHLY advise you go back and re-read the series! I've re-written the other 7 chapters and the chapter before this one has an alternate ending! PLUS A LOT OF DETAIL HAS BEEN ADDED ALONG WITH SCENES THAT WEREN'T IN THE ORIGINAL UPLOAD!**

 **If you don't re-read the series, you may get confused!  
** _ ****_

 _ **Chapter Eight: New Friends**_

" _A real friend is are the ones who walk in, when the rest of the world walks out."  
-Walter Winchell_ _ ****_

 **S** omehow, I'm still alive.

After being thrown to the wave's by my apparent lover, I was certain I wouldn't be emerging. Luckily I seemed to have washed up on a beach, I wasn't sure where I even was, but, I'm thankful to still be alive. Hopefully I'd be able to meet up with the White Fang and get a message out to Sienna and my family.  
I still had my weapon, meaning I could fight if need be, however, I lost my scroll in the ocean and I never grabbed my White Fang mask. I didn't have any Lien with me, and because of losing my scroll, I didn't have anyone I could contact.

Standing, I brushed the sand off of me, before turning towards the forest behind me, wondering what was laying in wait for me. No doubt with the energy I was admitting right now, I'd be encountering some grimm. Hopefully nothing too dangerous, my body was still sore for standing up to Ligero.

~~~~~

After wandering through the woods for awhile, it became apparent that someone was living close by, trees had been carved into and cut down. It wasn't a village, but perhaps a huntsman had taken up residence nearby?

Heading deeper into the forest, I started to see signs of a fight, there were scars in trees and across the ground, bullet casings littered the area. The grimm sure seemed to be active today.  
Continuing on, I started hearing a skirmish, someone was fighting, I could hear rounds being fired and the grimm howling nearby. Right now, I would rather avoid a fight than push myself harder, but, helping this person may just get me a place to stay for a day or two and that will give me a chance to recover.

I ran into a clearing, a young girl with a red cape and wielding a scythe is currently fighting against a Shear, surprisingly, the girl was holding her own pretty well. I hadn't fought one myself, but I had seen my parent's team up to kill one that wondered too closely to Kuo Kuanna before. Of course, that was years ago and I only remembered fragments, but I was sure I'd be able to assist.  
Most Shear's were larger, newbie huntsman were scared of them, due to their humanoid form, though it was elongated and possessed a sharp, killer pair of claws instead of hands, some people still mistook it as human in it's younger forms. The older they got, the more deformed their face became, at first their bone formed to look like a masquerade mask, as time progressed, the bone pierced through the blackness, giving it a mor warped feeling.

The woman in red stood confidently, her scythe swung over her shoulder as the beast leaped above her, she readied herself, using her scythe to deflect the creature, shooting it as it flew over her. Before the creature could catch it's balance, she swung her scythe towards it, leaving a scar in it's armor. The Shear jumped up, into the trees, camouflaging itself for a moment before leaping out and attacking her once again. The girl moved around the beast with ease, she must've been trained by someone pretty strong to be this good at her age. She threw her scythe, cutting into the beast again, it flailed, her scythe being tossed back at her, she caught it just in time to defend herself from two more swipes. A smile played at her lips when the Shear wailed, letting out a series of swipes that she let her scythe catch for her. Somehow, she managed to get the gun under his chin, firing a round to knock him back, swing the scythe around her, firing another round, using the momentum from the shot to leap over the creature, landing on her feet, spinning and trapping its neck behind the blade, pulling the trigger once again, decapitating the beast. It evaporated soon after, so much for helping her.

A few more grimm appeared from the surrounding forest, maybe I could get my shot after all, the girl didn't seem to notice the beowolf approaching from behind, I drew my katana, transforming it to sickle mode, throwing it and successfully making contact with the beast behind her, right between its eyes, before pulling it back, stepping out from the woods. The two of us easily dispatched the remaining grimm in the area, the huntress showed a great prowess in her weapon and concern for me as I followed her movements, slaying the grimm.

The girl returned her weapon back to its base form, placing it in it's holder before turning to me, her smile still on her face. "So! What's your name?" It was strange that she showed me any friendliness when we were in the middle of nowhere, and people seemed to be nowhere around.

Since this girl was notably human, I didn't want to reveal my identity as one of the High Leader's of the White Fang's daughter, I needed to quickly come up with an alias. "Belle Noire." I replied, hoping that Jett wouldn't mind me borrowing his last name. "Oh! I'm, Ruby Rose!" She chimed, walking towards me. "So, where are you from? I haven't seen you in the village before? Are you from the resistance in Vale?"

With her information I managed to piece together that I was outside of Vale somewhere. And that there was some kind of resistance that I wasn't aware of? "There's a resistance in Vale?" I questioned, figuring that I'd tell her I was from outside of Vacuo.  
"Against the grimm, yeah. About a week ago there was a major uprising in grimm trying to assault the city, so a lot of the huntsmen and huntresses are there fending them off. They're coming in fewer numbers now, so the officials are letting us go home and check out the surrounding smaller villages. Since I'm from Patch, I figured I'd kill two nevermore with one stone and check on the village before going home. Besides the few that we fought, my dad's been taking pretty good care of the village, my uncle probably helped too."

Ruby seemed like a great person, I felt like I could trust her, but I still needed to keep my identity a secret. "So, if you aren't from around here, where are you from? Are you traveling?" Ruby asked the very question that I dreaded having to answer. There's no way I could tell her that the White Fang and a secret mercenary group are plotting mass destruction and that I am the only one who knows enough to stop them. Who would believe that?

"I'm from Auferetur, it's a small village in the forests before Vaccuo territory." That was the village that Adam and I had vacationed just outside of. "There actually was a grimm uprising their too, I thought that I'd defeated all the grimm in the area, but a larger grimm appeared and I ended up getting thrown into the water and, well, I ended up here…"  
I couldn't help but wonder if the grimm uprisings were connected. I wanted to ask if the first few grimm here had been injured too, but that was giving away information she didn't need to know.

"Oh, well it's going to be a few days before you can get back.. Air traffic has been restricted due to the amount of Nevermore and Lancer's that have been in the area. There's also been sightings of Griffon's and I think a dragon or something. You could probably still walk back, that would be really dangerous though." Ruby was deep in thought, trying to figure out a way to get me back home. I sighed, almost regretting the next words to come out of my mouth. "Actually, I'm heading to Kuo Kuanna, so I'll have to wait for transportation. I was planning on heading out in a couple days, but since I'm already here, I may as well." I lied, hoping she'd believe me.

"Well, you may as well come back with me, you'll probably need a change of clothes, and a bath, looks like you took quite a beating when you fell, hopefully nothing too serious." Ruby was right, I was sore and I did need rest, and a bath sounded amazing right now. I took her up on her offer and we began to walk to her place, which she said, like the house Adam and I shared, it was away from the village.

~~~~~

"So, your sword turns into a sickle?" Ruby questioned as we walked down the path, leading to her house. I nodded, to which her eyes widened. "I always wanted to have the blade of Crescent Rose to be detachable, so I could launch it at grimm. But, he said that was impractical." She sighed, mumbling the next part, "Still think I coulda done it though….."

At this point we reached the door to her house, the patter of an animal's claws across the wooden floor, followed by the bark of a medium-sized dog...I wasn't expecting a dog….

As soon as Ruby opened the door, the dog rushed out, jumping up on her, to which she giggled and started talking to him in a higher-pitched tone."Zwei! Oh, I missed you boy, yes I did! Were you good while I was gone? Oh, I bet you were!"  
The dog calmed down, sitting at Ruby's feet before looking over to me, locking his gaze to mine.  
Ok, Blake, it's just a dog, don't freak out, don't freak out, he won't hurt you, he just wants to lick you, probably a whole lot, and you're gonna end up covered in slobber, but, that's ok! You can take a bath and when you get out, you're going to get covered in slobber again…

As if on cue the dog ran over to me, jumping up towards me, begging me to give it attention. I didn't have a choice, I had to reach dog and pat the dog on the head, I didn't want to take the chance of Ruby being one of those people that don't like people who don't like dogs. "You're a good boy.." I muttered and the dog dropped down, running back inside.

Ruby walked in first, we were in the kitchen, the room was dark, so she was searching for the light switch. "Dad! I'm home and I brought a friend to spend a few nights!" She shouted, finally flipping the switching on, revealing their kitchen, which had….very high-up cabinets. Odd.  
"IS IT A BOY!?" An older male's voice shrieked from upstairs, I could hear her father desperately running down the stairs...  
Glad I wasn't a boy, I fear for when she brings one home..

Ruby grumbled, rolling her eyes. "She's a girl and her name is Belle!" I found it comical that her father's steps actually slowed down. "Ruby, I would appreciate you at least giving me a call before you bring friends over. I could've had dinner ready by now, I didn't even know you were going to be home." Her father spoke as he walked into the room, a big smile on his face, seeing his daughter.

I was introduced to her father, he insisted that I just call him Tai as if he were a friend. He was working in the kitchen, hoping to get dinner done before Ruby or I fell asleep. Ruby had lead me through their living room and upstairs to their spare bedroom. There was a closet in the spare room with some clothes I could choose from. The closet was mainly defined by Kimono-style clothing and corsets. These clothes seemed a bit too big for Ruby, perhaps they belonged to her mother, or an older sister. Part of me wanted to imagine tai as a crossdresser, a chuckle came out as that thought passed my mind. After searching through the closet for awhile, I finally found an old pair of pajamas, a pair of black pants, with an orange lace, and a matching long sleeve shirt, the material was sleek and soft, a perfect fit for me.

After grabbing the clothes I decided to take a shower before dinner, Ruby had come in to take my dirty clothes, so they could be washed and returned to me the next morning.  
I probably spent too much time in the bathroom, just soaking in the tub, thinking about everything that had happened and in a way, trying to avoid the dog.

I kept all my answers brief about why I was headed to Menagerie. I told them that I had family there, not specifying how we were related. I'd also come up with a backstory of how I was raised in Vacuo, which wasn't entirely true. When I was young, my family traveled a lot, so I was raised everywhere, I only remember being in Vacuo once, prior to my visit with Adam. Neither of them seemed to peer into my past too much, they knew that behind every huntsman or huntress, there was a lot of heavy baggage.

Because of the tale I told them about facing the grimm and being thrown into the water, I was able to excuse myself and go to bed early, to have some more time to myself. Though, they didn't follow behind too far after, and the house fell silent. I decided it was probably best for me to get some sleep too.

The door opened downstairs, I heard Zwei bark, but someone hushed him quickly. I assumed Tai or Ruby had gotten up to scan the perimeter or something. I tried drifting back to sleep as they walked upstairs, since they effectively quieted the dog, I knew they wouldn't be harmful.  
Even with that thought I was still startled when they opened my door, flicking on the light.

It took a few seconds adjust with the sudden change of lighting. "Blake?" A familiar female voice called out. I looked up, it was the huntress from the train months ago, I was surprised she remembered my name. She could pose a problem to my story….

 _ **To be continued….**_


	9. Chapter 9: A state of rest

_Chapter Nine: A state of rest._

 _"Sometimes you meet a person and you just click- You're comfortable with them, like you've known them your whole life and you don't have to pretend to be anyone or anything."_  
 _-Alexandra Ardonetto_

How would I even begin to explain everything? Maybe I could just tell Yang that Blake was a cover name? But, if we run into anyone from Kandola or Adam's inner circle, they'd address me as Blake and I'd still get caught? Maybe if I just came clean and told them it was for my safety? Would they believe that? How did Yang even know my name? I hadn't introduced myself…  
Must've overheard Adam say it.

"Hey! It's so good to see you! You know I got worried after you and your incredibly reckless boyfriend jumped off the train. Oh! Is he somewhere around here?" Yang was cheery, despite being in a similar condition as I was when I arrived. She was covered in dirt and bruises.

I tried not to think about her questioning Adam's presence, I needed to think of a lie. But, as I remembered the battle on the train, I recalled what I had told Yang to calm her rage.

"Yang, thanks for your concern, but, he's my partner and I trust him with my life. He wouldn't have done something so reckless if he didn't think I'd make it.."

Sorrow was overwhelming me, I had trusted him so much, put my life on the line, always thinking that I'd be alright, that Adam would never let harm come to me and yet the second he gets offered a better deal than I can provide, he abandons me, believing to have killed me. Maybe Farrand was onto something…..

I couldn't keep the tears back, Yang had opened her mouth to say something else, probably asking if I was alright when I let out a sob, failing to regulate my breathing. She dropped her bag immediately, rushing to my side to comfort me as if we'd known each other for years.

"W-we..We broke up!" I admitted, trying to wipe away the tears in my eyes, still hoping to keep it together. I hadn't realized that what I thought was a calm sentence had actually been a strained shriek.

Yang sat on the edge of the bed, her hair over mind. "Blake, I'm sorry, I didn't know." Her voice was melancholic as she tried to console me. "But, you're going to be alright. If he can't recognize everything you've done for him, then that's his loss."

She was gentle, almost reminded me of when my mother had comforted me after my first break-up. Minus having my dad promise to hurt him as much as he hurt me.

A few minutes passed and Yang let out a sigh. "It's ok, Dad, you can come in."

Reluctantly, Tai stepped in, his face showed a sorrowful look as well. Had I really been in such distress that I hadn't noticed Tai walk out of his room? I hope I hadn't disturbed Ruby's sleep as well.

"Are you alright, Blake?" He questioned, not coming too far into the room.

Had he heard Yang address me when she returned home? I responded to his fatherly questioning as fast as I could, hoping that he'd stop trying to pry into the situation. Eventually the two had left me alone, Tai went downstairs, saying that he was in the mood for a midnight snack, and he may as well heat up some leftovers for Yang since she was probably hungry. Yang in the meantime said she was going to slip into the shower and she'd probably end up spending the night on the couch or something because she didn't want to wake Ruby.

I had hoped to somehow fall back to sleep, wake up the next morning, rested and ready to conquer the day, but, my mind kept racing, I was thinking of Adam, wondering what he was doing, what he was even thinking, how far had he even made it? He was the leader of a mercenary faction, meaning that he had aircraft access that I didn't at the moment. I couldn't even hijack a scroll to call my parents, because the scrolls weren't linked. My only chance was the communication tower in Vale and it's not like I could get a private one on one chat with my parents, there would be others in the room and I couldn't spread panic.

Finally I decided to head downstairs, Yang had headed down there awhile ago and I hadn't heard Tai or her walk back up their creaky stairs. A faint light glared across the walls coming from the kitchen, along with the reheated scents of our dinner.

"I mean, it was pretty easy, unlike Nora, I can get up close and personal to Grimm. Which easily allowed me to increase my body count. I was seven above she unleashed this badass electrical charge into the ursa in front of her creating a shockwave, taking out several more. But, I easily used her attack as a strategy and allowed myself to get caught up in it, absorbing the impact, activating my semblance and eliminating the remaining threats." Yang was talking to Tai, telling him about her accomplishments while away it sounded like.

"You really should be more careful, Yang, yeah your semblance is cool for making quick jabs and throwing your opponent's force back at them, but if you fight a huntsman slayer, they're going to easily find a way around your strategy and you could get hurt, or worse." Tai responded with the typical dad response, earning a disgruntled groan from Yang.

I walked into the kitchen around this time, earning a stare from the both of them, Yang quickly changed her half-surprised expression to a smile, Tai following behind. "Hey, Blake! Did you get hungry? There's plenty left, if you want some!" Yang was sitting on the counter, plate in hand, while Tai was on the far side of the table, near the door, which had been opened, presumably for Zwei.

Tai stood up, walking over to the door and calling Zwei in before announcing that he was going to head back to bed and heading back upstairs, leaving me alone with Yang. I hadn't realized but I'd just been staring at her for a few minutes. She'd been quiet, returning my stare with a confused look of her own. "Is something wrong?" Her voice snapped me out of my trance. I needed to think of anything to say in order for her not to worry about me. "So, uh….Why are your cabinets up so high?" It wasn't the best thing I could have said, however, I admit that I was curious. "Oh!" Yang hopped down. "Well, mom made them that way, Dad said that she insisted she'd have plenty of room to watch us play in the yard, so we could have our own independence while she took care of chores. Dad keeps saying he wants to change them now that we're grown up, but, he can't bring himself to do it, he helped mom put them up and he just doesn't feel right changing them." Yang sighed, looking to her feet. I'm guessing he their mother had passed with how she reacted. "So now, we just stand on the countertops to get anything out. Dad was pissed when we first started doing it, saying that we should just use the step ladder, but he eventually got over it."

Yang provided idle conversation for the evening, she didn't bring up Adam, surprisingly, she looked like the type of girl who always wanted to talk about boys and gossip: However, she'd was just telling me about life on the island. Despite getting a few Grimm now and then, island life was pretty fair. Sure, there were times where you'd have to forage your own food when you couldn't get to the market in Vale or there were times when they'd have to spent all day on repairs from storms moving through the area or when a harsh winter hit, but overall, it seemed like a very enjoyable, quiet life.

We both decided to head to bed around 3 a.m, Yang decided to just sleep in the armchair in the spare bedroom with me, so that she may stand a chance at getting some rest rather than having Ruby wake her at dawn. After getting settled back in to the bed, Yang turned out the light, yawning rather loudly before jumping into the chair. "Oh yeah, just a heads up, the morning after Ruby and I get home, Dad always makes us spend most of the day sparing to make sure we can still perform before heading back out. And with Ice Queen arriving tomorrow evening, I doubt will be able to rest at home for long, she's always wanting to take missions as soon as she gets here."


End file.
